Bachelor King 12: No Rest For The Weary
by creativeKing95
Summary: The enemies of Amarkia aren't done yet. Now, rebellious Amarkians themselves attack and publicly frame Spiny, resulting in his royal powers being drastically reduced. But that is just the beginning of the problem. The dreaded Red Eyes take the opportunity to attack. Once again, our heroes try to solve the problem, but when things start to go wrong, it may be curtains for Amarkia.
1. Chapter 1

Ohhh! The more I think about it, the angrier I get! I just can't live peacefully without some jerk or group of jerks trying to make my life a misery. I mean, wasn't what the UN had done enough?! Now I had to deal with…we'll get to that later.

The point is that being King has plenty of downsides. Your enemies, in and out of the country are constantly trying to make your life terrible and make you suffer. Ha, and no one knows that better than me.

Heaven knows that I have been through so much, but do you think my enemies leave me alone just for one second? Just one cotton-tail pickin' minute? NO! That would be so stupid! They must be constantly tormenting me. And what really irks me is the way they operate. They leave me in suspense. Why don't they just kill me right off?

Okay, I'm not that desperate.

Forget I said that.

Moving on!

Anyway, it was July 13. It had only been three days since we'd achieved victory and drove the UN out of Amarkia. Those we captured had been executed or had been shipped to the penal islands.

I was in my room, reading a book. Obviously. It was around two in the afternoon, I think. All of the sudden, I felt hungry. Which was strange, considering I'd already eaten. So I put my book away and went down to the kitchen to see if there was anything.

I grabbed some frozen chimichangas from the freezer and put them in the microwave. But when I punched in how long I wanted to heat it and then "Go," a red light flashed and the display said, "Error."

"Larry!" I crossed my arms and waited, taping my feet against the floor.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Why is the microwave not working?"

"Oh, that. I used to it earlier today to try to open a can of tuna."

HUH?! "A can of tuna? How were you planning to open a can of tuna with a microwave?"

"Well, I put in there for forty-five minutes. I figured that if it got hot enough, the top might go off."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Larry, you can't put metal in the microwave. It damages it!"

He put his hands on his hips and glared at me. "Well, I know that now! Okay? Lesson's been learned. I won't forget it." He left.

I sighed again and stared at the microwave. I disconnected it and got on the phone to call the Royal Repairman. "Hello? Mr. Leroy? Yes, this is King Spiny. I'm fine, how are you? My sister? Oh, she's still in intensive care. Greeny? He's getting surgery tomorrow in the morning. Yeah, hoping for the best. Sure, I'll tell them you said hi. Yeah, and also I wanted to ask you a favor. Yeah. Our microwave isn't working. Well, my dingbat roommate put a can of tuna in there, trying to get the lid off. Yeah, yeah. All right. Thank you."

Well, sometimes Larry's antics were easier to take care of. Like a broken microwave. Well, I said to myself. I guess I'll just go down to Arnold's and eat there. I was leaving the kitchen, when Larry popped back. "Hey, I have a quick question."

"What is it?"

"Can you or can't you put metal in the microwave?"

I slapped my face. "Ay yay yay, este Larry. I already told you that a minute ago."

"No, you didn't. You've never told me."

"Ugh! Let's just go down to Arnold's and get a bite to eat. Okay?"

"All right."

We walked out into the late summer afternoon. The sun was scorching and you could hear the heatwaves in the air. Most of the time during the summer, air comes in from the west of Sauropolis, from the bay and that keeps the city mild. But other times, like today, the air comes in from the east, that is, from the desert.

And you can imagine what that means.

We walked to Arnold's. We couldn't take the TIV, because it was being repaired. Actually, its real name is TIV 2. The original is back in Boulder, Colorado. Anyway, TIV 2 is constantly being needed to be fixed. The last time it was a broken axle. Now, it was the brake system. It was the 3rd time the brakes had failed.

And it was pretty inconvenient, since it was during the hottest time of the year. When you don't really want to be walking around. I guess Larry was starting to feel the heat, because he said, "Man, when are you going to get a real car?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it."

"Well, thinking is not going to save us from heat stroke."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!"

"Well, yeah! I mean, even if you have to get a Predsel Model A."

"You kidding? That's like from the year 80,385 BCE!" And that is an exact figure, in case you're wondering. That was the year the automobile was invented in Amarkia. "I want to get something a blue-colored convertible from the 38,000s." That's the equivalent of the 1960's for us.

"Oh, come on, Spiny, where do you think we are in, Happy Days."

"Look, I've got my taste and no one can force me to buy the latest thing off the market. Besides, I like cars from that time."

"Don't you mean age?"

"They're not old! They're classic!"

"So what? Same thing!"

"It is not!"

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"I won't argue with you about cars and decades."

"It's too late. You already are."

"I am…oh, no! You were going to trick me, weren't you? I'm sorry, Larry, but I know you a little too well."

"No you don't. What's my last name?"

"You don't have a last name. It's just Larry."

"Okay, you got me there. What's my favorite color?"

"Purple."

"My favorite novel?"

"Oliver Twist."

"Um…my favorite TV Show?"

"Amarkian or non-Amarkian?"

"Non-Amarkian."

"It's _How Stuff Works_ , from the Discovery Channel. And you're favorite Amarkian show is _Amarkia's Got Talent_."

"All right, Mr. Know-it-All. How's this? What is my favorite movie?"

"Lion King 1 ½."

He stared at me for a while. "Let's just go to _Arnold's_. I am not going to argue over hobbies."

Heh heh. When Larry stops asking questions like that and just tells you to go back to whatever you were doing, that usually means he's given up and is tired or arguing.

In short, I won that argument.

And believe me, when you have won an argument with a person like Larry, that's really a huge milestone. Believe me. It really is. Although, now that I think about it, I don't think there are that many people like Larry.

I sure hope there aren't. This world is crazy enough as it is. Can you imagine thousands of Larrys all over the place? Ugh. That's too terrible to imagine. I won't even say it because it might come true.

I already have to deal with one idiot living under my roof. It's like a combination of the worst of Daffy Duck, Sid the Sloth, Scrat the Squirrel, and Lucy Ball. Who, (surprise) happen to be Larry's heroes. He's got their posters on his half of the room.

Well, you know what they say: Like an idiot, like an idiot.

Case in point.


	2. Chapter 2

The restaurant was really packed. I mean, it was _packed_. I guess a combination of heat and summer vacation had sent all kids ages 13 to 18 racing to the nearest hang-out with air conditioning.

And ice cream sundaes. And chocolate sodas. And lemonades. And fruit punch. And…ok, you get it, right?

Anyways, Larry and I went to sit at our regular spot. We grabbed the menus and looked. "What looks good to you?" said Larry.

"A girl in a bikini?" I said laughing.

Obviously, Larry was in a foul mood, because he just said, "Spiny, please! You're 14."  
"I was joking. Can't you laugh at what I say?"

"No, I only laugh when I prank you or embarrass you in public. That's the only source of laughter for me."  
I went back to looking. A waiter came to our table. I looked up and…YIKES! It was a short, scrawny, gray-haired old man. What the heck was a guy his age working a teen hangout? Why was he working at all? Hadn't he heard of retirement?

By the way, retirement age in Amarkia is 60. This guy looked like he was 92 or something. In Amarkian years, of course.

"What can I get for you, sonny?"

Before I could open my mouth, Larry said, "He'll have a low-calorie avocado shake and a cold chicken salad."  
"AHEM! Cancel that order. I'll have the grilled chicken sandwich, a side salad, fries, and a root beer with cherry flavor ad-in."

"Very well. Be right back, sonny boys."  
Larry and I just stared at each other. "What was that?" I said.

"That was old man working as a waiter."  
"I know that, stupid."

"Why are you asking then?"

I was about to punch him right on the nose when guess who came? No, not Lilia, unfortunately. No, not Kylie very fortunately. And no, it was not Ariel Winter. And it was definitely not Kaitlyn Dever. Although she is really cute.

It was Roger. Our dear friend from Waterfall City.

"Hey, guys," he said.

I stood up and we shook hands. "Hey, dude. What you doing over here?"

"Yeah, this is Spiny's territory," said Larry.

"Larry, I already told you, I've only got one girlfriend and that's plenty. I have no intention of being a ladies' man."

Larry ignored me and got back to…whatever he was doing. Roger sat down next to Larry. "So how about this heat, huh?"  
I nodded. "I know. It's really something. Good thing is that the A/C still works. So how you doing?"

"Doing great. Next year I'm going to start my college application exams."

"Really? That's great? What you doing to study for?"

"Well…"

Then Larry said, "He's going to study for what he already is: a poor loser and nerd who can't get his tomboy girlfriend to date him because she's tougher than he is."

We both glared at Larry. "Nobody asked for your opinion."

"Yes they did. My conscience did."

"ANYWAYS…how are things with you and Darla?"

Before he answered, he glared at Larry. Larry just turned around and whistled. "Well, things are…okay."  
"Okay? What does okay mean?"

"Um…as in we-have-not-officially-had-a-romantic-date kind of okay."

"Ha!" Larry laughed. "I'm not surprised. Darla is about as romantic as going playing paintball and as a feminine as a judo fighter."

"Larry," I said. "First of all, it's not nice to insult friends…or anyone else for that matter. Second, it's not that Darla is…less…uh, girly than other girls. She's a tomboy. You know…her idea of a romantic would probably be a skateboard competition, a graffiti contest, or seeing who can lift weights the longest."  
"I'm not too keen on that," said Roger. "I mean…I've never had a girlfriend before and I've never dated, and I didn't really imagine that the first one would be with a tomboy."

"Look, Darla is a very nice girl with a great personality, a good sense of humor, and will often accept anything that you like or do. And she won't take forever to change clothes or put make-up on."

"That's true. Darla feels complete nausea towards make-up, lip palm, nail polish, perfume, and even scented hair conditioner," said Larry.

Roger's eyes popped open. "Do you mean to tell me she doesn't wash her hair?"

"Of course she does. But the shampoo she uses doesn't have a scent. It's just regular shampoo. I mean, in comparison Spiny is more feminine that Darla."

"WHAT?!"

"Well…you…use fruit-scented shampoo."

"That's not being feminine. That's just…caring for my appearance. Not a lot, but just a little."

Roger ignored Larry. "So Darla has been a tomboy since, like, forever?"

I nodded. "Back in 2nd grade, she saw once on the playground a group of boys who were teasing some of her friends. Her more girly friends, of course. And she went over and single-handedly gave about five boys who were probably twice her size a good whipping."  
"Did she beat them up real bad?"  
"Listen, those boys were so beat-up that they couldn't play touch football for a month. And they were so scared that they never played on the playground for the rest of the school year."

"Wow. That's good to know," said Roger, a little nervous.

I was worried that I was starting to scare the guy. "But don't worry. She may not be all kissy and hugging and holding hands, but when she likes someone, you know it. She'll pat you in the back a lot, slug you in the shoulder and elbow you in a friendly way."  
Roger shrugged. "Well…thanks anyway for the advice. I'll keep that in mind."

The old waiter came with our order. "Here you are, sonny. Avocado and cold chicken salad." As expected he gave that to me and gave Larry my order. When he left, Larry grabbed a napkin and was about to dig in. "Oh, no you don't!" I said, taking away the plate and giving him the avocado smoothie and cold chicken salad.

"Hey!"  
"Look, if you stopped being a smart-aleck, these things wouldn't happen to us. Now shut up and eat that. That's what you get for being a brickhead."  
I had just given my chicken sandwich, when I looked towards the front doors that had just opened. I saw…what seemed like a tragedy…but a tragedy that was in my favor. Why do I say that? Because an angel had just fallen from heaven and she was walking towards me.


	3. Chapter 3

I got that feeling I get every time I see her. I get butterflies in my stomach, and my heart starts to beat like a crazy rabbit. A sense of peace, calm and serenity overcomes and I feel like flying to the moon.

She smiled at me. That angelic face smiling is too much for me. I stood up and…whoa! I got dizzy. I guess I got a little excited and stood up too quick.

I smiled back at her, feeling hot and cold at the same time, as I always do. Sure, we'd been a couple for almost three months, but it was still like it was three days. "Hi," she said. She was with Amanda, Meagan, and Miranda, another friend of hers.

"Hi, there, beautiful," I said.

"Oh, boy, I think I'm going to throw up," said Larry.

I ignored him. "So, how is my angel from heaven doing?"

She blushed and looked down. "Spiny, I already told you, I'm not that pretty. I'm just average."

I grabbed her hands and kissed her lips affectionately. Everyone else in the restaurant cheered and applauded. Even Roger was whistling. Oh, man. Now I was embarrassing her. We sat back down, her beside me and her friends sat in another booth.

"So, what you guys up to?" she said.

"We're going to blow up Denver, Colorado," said Larry.

I glared at him. "Will you please stop it with the jokes?"

"Sourpuss," he muttered, getting back to his sorry excuse for a lunch.

"Actually, Spiny was giving me some courtship guidance," said Roger.

"Oh, really," said Lilia. "Well, you came to the best place in the world. Spiny is a natural born romantic."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on, Lilia. It's not something I was naturally born with."

"Maybe not," she said, running her hand through my hair. "But you're very good with it."

I laughed. "Say, you want to talk a walk tonight? In the park?"

Her face shone with joy. "I'd love to!"

"All right, I'll call you later. How does 5:30 sound?"

"Sounds great." She kissed me. "Bye!"

I blushed. "Bye."

I know you might think I'm mushy and all that, but I'm not. And even if I am, who cares? I'm the person who likes to express their love for others. And Lilia and I are not overly mushy but we display our affection in public. We hug, we hold hands, and we kiss, and put our arms around each other.

Nothing wrong with being affectionate with your girlfriend, right?

Of course not.

Anyways, after Lilia left, Roger said, "Man, dude. What I wouldn't give to have Darla all over me like that."

"Don't lose hope, Roger. It'll happen. I mean, Darla may not be feminine, but she's still a girl."

"I'll be so nauseated from all the affection that I'll be puking my bones out," said Larry in an annoyed face.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, sourpuss. Let's just go home. I need to start getting ready for my date."

We said bye to Roger and went back to the Palace. Larry ran up to our room to do who-knows-what. I wasn't really interested. Actually, I was still a little bit hungry. Even though I had lunch at Arnold's, my stomach started growling.

Well, I am 14 years old. I'm just starting to develop (and yet I'm told I'm a heartthrob) and as most adults say, "You teens are bottomless pits. You just eat and eat and eat, but never get fat."

And a notable characteristic in my family is extremely metabolism. I think I've mentioned that before, but just in case. Anyways, I was hungry and walked into the living room to get to the kitchen.

Robert was lying on the couch, eyes closed and long blonde hair covering his face and drooping over the edge. This kid slept off 75% of all his summer vacations. I knew it wouldn't be long before he was in my situation: always hungry and chased by girls.

I slowly tiptoed past so as to not wake him when without warning, he suddenly stood up and said, "BAAHHHH!"

That just about scared the living daylights out of me, made me jump in the air, and made me trip backwards and hit my head against the floor. Good thing it was carpet. I got up and glared at my brother. "What the heck did you do that for? I thought you were asleep."

"I thought you were out. That makes even."

"Makes us…ugh. Never mind. I was just going to the kitchen to get a bite."

"Mmm. Yes. And also I smell….chocolate malt and…girly perfume. Let me guess, you were making out with Lilia in Arnold's."

"Robert, don't be obtuse. I wouldn't call it making out."

"Well, you wouldn't, but I would," he said, snickering.

"Well for your information…never mind. I'm just going to go make something."

"All right, but try not to mess up too much. Patty is on a cheesecake-baking marathon and she's been in there all day."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Preteens.

When I got to the kitchen, I grabbed a glass cup and a small plate and opened the fridge door. Usually, I would've expected to see food in there. I mean, that's what a fridge is for, right?

Well, I was half-right. Imagine my surprise when I saw Larry. He was not only in the fridge, he was also tucked in the middle section, drinking milk directly from the jug, sucking eggs, and eating cheese and lettuce.

"What are you doing in here?!" I yelled at him, seeing as how he hadn't noticed that I had opened the door.

His reaction was pretty expected. He sprayed the milk all over my face. "Oh, hi Spiny. What you doing around these parts?"

I wiped off the milk that was dripping off my left cheek. "The real question is, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know. Just hanging around. Really cool here. Ha! Cool, get it?"

I was in no mood for fooling around, so I grabbed him by the neck and swung him out of there. I was really going to need to clean the fridge now. And with boiling water. I heard a crash behind me where Larry had landed. To be honest, I didn't care one bit about that. But Larry's not the kind of guy who will leave a situation alone.

You know what the goofball did?

While I was seeing what was left to eat, he poured melted cheese down my back! I turned around and was about to say, "Now, look here, me bucko!" when he blew flour into my face. All right, that did it!

"Of course, you realize this means war!" I said. (I love Bugs Bunny, by the way!)

"Oh, that it does in deed. That it does in deed," he said in a dramatic tone.

I slapped him in the face with a frozen steak. Then he smashed two eggs into my face. And then I stuck his head into the oatmeal container. To which he answered by hitting me on the head with a huge pot. The ones you use to make stew.

Those things really hurt. No, I'm serious. Never hit anyone with a pot. It really does hurt. Bad. Really bad.

Anyway, before long we had switched from food fighting to wrestling. We pinned ourselves to the floor and started rolling around kicking things around and throwing and hitting each other with food and kitchenware.

I thought about sticking him into a microwave for forty-five minutes or sticking a huge slab of cheese into his mouth. I choose the latter and kicked him into the table to buy myself time to open the fridge and get the cheese.

You know what the idiot did? I had just grabbed a huge piece of cheese when he grabbed the cheesecake that Patty had just made. "Oh, no you don't!"

"Oh, yes I will!"

"No! Patty just made that."

"Better that way. That means it's a fresh weapon."

"Put that back in the fridge! Give it to me!" I yelled grabbing one end of the plate. He started pulling the other.

"No, give it! It's mine!"

"It is not!"

"It is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

We both started pulling on the plate. Some of the icing had started to melt and was starting to slide underneath my fingers. They started to lose grip and it felt very slippery. We weren't gaining an inch either way.

Then a voice said, "What are you guys doing?!"

We both turned to look and saw Patty standing at the hallway entrance with her hands on her hips and a not-so-happy look on her face.

Then the worst thing happened.

Remember that piece of cheese? Well…it slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor and…well…it was really slippery anyway and…my foot just so happened to be…

Long story short, I slipped forward on the piece of cheese and it hit Larry in the gut. I still must've been hard cause he let go of the plate. At the same time I did. And well…

WAS IT MY FAULT THAT THE CHEESECAKE WENT FLYING AND HIT PATTY RIGHT IN THE FACE?!


	4. Chapter 4

If this were a TV show, this would be my cue to say, "Ohhhh boy!"

Time had frozen. The air grew quiet and heavy. It was quite heavy. Ha, get it! It was quiet and heavy and also quite heavy…uh…not so funny actually.

Well, our situation was also far from amusing. The plate with the cheesecake was still hanging on Patty's face. Then it slid off and uh…inevitably broke into a dozen pieces of sharp ceramic.

But Patty's face was…yikes! She had the whole thing on her face! The cake slid off, leaving huge globs of cake and icing all over her. Even through all that gunk I could read her expression. Yipes!

I could tell she was downright angry. She was definitely not about to start jumping up and down for joy. I could actually see her face starting to get red. Something told me that the reddening of her face was no sign of embarrassment or sunburn.

"What…are…you…doing?!" she finally yelled.

Larry and I stared at each other. "Well…we were just…um…" that was all I could say off my tongue at the moment.

"Look what you did to my kitchen!"

"Well, technically it's my kitchen, since this is my house," I said. Although I have to admit that I wasn't saying in a full-hearted and superior manner.

Patty reached for some paper towels and wiped most of the icing off. Then she washed her hands and grabbed the broom. She came stomping up to me and stuck the broomstick right in my face. "Clean this mess up!"

"Excuse me?"

"Clean this mess up!"

"Wait a minute! Why should I clean? Larry started everything!"

"Well, thanks a lot," Larry said.

"I don't care who started it! I want this mess cleaned up," Patty said again.

"I don't have time. I need to start getting ready. I have a date later with Lilia."

She sneered. "Well, you picked a good day to act like all boys your age. Now clean this up, or I will tell your girlfriend how immature and childish you are."

I glared at her. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" She grabbed her phone and was about to press Call on Lilia's number.

"All right, all right. I'll do it." I started sweeping the pieces of broken plates and food. Larry was about to sneak out of there when Patty grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back. "Wait just a minute!"

She handed him a bucket and a mop.

He didn't even fight. He filled the bucket with water and started moping where I'd cleaned already.

Coward.

At that moment, Robert appeared from the hallway. "Whoa! When did the hurricane pass? Look at this mess," he said laughing. He should've kept his mouth shut. Patty grabbed a cloth towel and gave it to him.

"Oh, come on now!"

"Don't argue. Start wiping," Patty ordered.

"Now wait a minute. I had nothing to do with this."

"I don't care. Start cleaning!" She turned to the rest of us. "And I don't want anymore clowning, is that clear?! I'm going to go take a shower." She left the kitchen and for the next hour or so, there complete silence except for the sounds of mops being dipped in water, clothes wiping over food, and broken plates being put in the trash bin.

Knowing how that incident affected my date with Lilia later and how that would affect my for the next two to three weeks, I've come to this conclusion: I should've stuffed Larry in the microwave.

Well, anyways, we finished cleaning the kitchen and I went up to my room and showered and got dressed and all that stuff. When I went downstairs again, I went past the, uh, previous War Zone. Patty stepped out, her hair still wet and her face completely clean.

"Listen, I am leaving and will not stop for a speck of dust I didn't see," I said firmly. I mean, please! I wasn't going to be pushed around anymore.

She handed me a basket.

"What's this?" I looked inside. Turkey sandwiches? Brownies? I looked at her.

"Sorry I yelled at you. I should've been more calm. It's just that without Kathy around, it's been really stressing."

I smiled at her. "It's okay. I understand. You're both used to doing most things together. She's usually the more excited and hyperactive one."

She laughed. "You can say that again. Anyways, I thought it'd be nice if you and Lilia had a picnic in the park, so I prepared you a simple, yet romantic picnic meal."

"Well thanks anyway. I'll see you later." I hugged her and left.

It was almost five-thirty. It was still kind of hot and dry. But the good thing was there was a lot of forest in the park we were going to and that meant a lot of shade. As I walked down the driveway and across the street, I waved to several people (and dinosaurs, obviously) who were walking past.

I felt really close to my subjects. I didn't live my whole life all locked up in the Palace like other kings and country leaders do. It creates a relationship with my citizens. A relationship built on trust.

As a celebrity, I kept my private life, well, private. But as King and leader of my people, I was very open. That way people would get to truly know me well and see things from my perspective.

But that wouldn't matter for what was about to happen.

Anyways, I reached Lilia's door and rang her…well, the doorbell, obviously.

Her face appeared behind the door but she didn't open it completely. "Oh, hi Spiny."

"Hi. You ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be with you in a minute. I just have to get my dress on."

I sat on the bench on the porch and waited. Man, it was hot! The sun was scorching. You could really hear the heat in the air. Amarkia is the only country on Earth that is completely free of fossil fuels and deforestation, but we're still affected by climate change.

But, unlike other countries, we don't deserve it.

Finally, she came out, wearing a bright orange-pink dress and a matching headband. She looked so beautiful! And to top it all off, she was wearing matching jewel earrings. I must've been staring, because she said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You look so pretty."

She looked down and her cheeks got pink. "Oh, thanks, Spiny. You look really handsome."

I took her hand and off we went. The sun was really bad now, in the late afternoon. But as soon as we got to the park, we found a nice shaded area under a section of thick canopy. We sat down on the grass and ahh! Much better.

"Phew! Man this is so much better," I replied.

"I know. It's so hot," Lilia agreed.

I opened the picnic basket to grab a sandwich and start eating. Only I didn't exactly grab a sandwich. "Ahh! Larry! What are you doing in there?!"

"Oh, you know, just hanging around." He climbed out of the basket. "Hi, Lilia."

"Uh, hi." She looked just as surprised as I was.

"Get out of here," I said to Larry.

"Aw, come on, Spiny. Don't be such a grumpy-grumperson. Besides, I'm hungry and bored. The only way I can entertain myself is by bothering you." You see the kind of person he is? He openly admits that he loves to drive me crazy and make my life miserable.

"I said for you to go away!"

"But, but, but…"

"Scram!"

"I just…"

"GO!"

He grabbed two sandwiches and made a run for it before I could catch him. It was a good thing, too. If I ever get my hands on him I'll…never mind.

I looked back at Lilia. "Now, where were we?"

"About to start our picnic date," she said.

"Oh, right." I reached into the basket to grab sandwich. I unwrapped it and…what the! Some idiot had replaced my turkey sandwich with a spinach and tomato salad. Who would…of course. Larry.

"I already told that jughead that I'm getting plenty of fiber," I said out loud. I showed the salad to Lilia.

She laughed. "Oh, Spiny. He really makes your life exciting doesn't he?"

I shook my head. "You oughta have him for just two days and see if he doesn't drive you completely bananas."

"No, thanks. I've got an older sister who's got a hundred boyfriends, and two brothers in high school who nearly destroyed the garage with their music recordings."

"Hmm. I guess there are advantages and disadvantages in being the youngest child in the house."

"Yeah, but same goes for the oldest."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know."

Well, anyways, we ate our picnic lunch and talked and talked. Time really does go flying when you're enjoying yourself. I can tell you that's true, because when we we finished, it was already dark.

It was like we were in a trance, because when we looked around…huh? "Oh, my gosh, it's dark already?!" Lilia said, astonished.

"Yeah, looks like it. Let me see what time it is." I looked at my wristwatch. "It's 8:30!"

"Wow! Really?! I didn't even feel the time going."

"That's how it is when you're having a good time." I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, Spiny. I enjoy being with you, too."

I got up on my feet and grabbed her hands to help her up. "Well, let's get you home before your dad starts sending out the national police."

She laughed at that. I love to hear her laugh.

It was a few minutes later when it happened. We were walking in the darkness, hand in hand. We were reaching the edge of the forest. There were some rental cabins on the path we were taking, since this was a good place to take a vacation and all that.

"Can't wait to see this place covered in snow, right?" I said.

Lilia didn't answer. I looked to my left and…HUH?! She'd disappeared. What the…That was odd.

But I didn't have to time to react, because at that moment…you're not going to believe it…I suddenly felt a huge blow on the head and…everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes, it was very dark at first. I slowly got up. Oh, man! My head was hurting like crazy! Felt like it'd been stung by a thousand angry hornets. Don't tell me how I know that. Ugh.

Anyways…I felt kind of light-headed for a while. I looked around me and saw four wooden walls. I got up and…wait! I'd been lying on a bed. Holy cats! I was in the cabin! How the heck had this happened?!

I stood up and was wondering…hmm. I looked down and…eek! I was in my underwear! WHAT….WHO…HUH….

All right. If this was a practical joke, then I was going to be really mad! And if this was an attempted murder or something….well, just imagine. I looked around, searching for my pants. They were…folded up real nice under the bed?! I never took off my…

As a matter of fact, I don't remember anything. Huh. Last thing I remembered was looking around for Lilia. Hmm.

I got my pants on and started looking for my shirt and coat. _Larry, this better not be you_ , I said to myself. I'd just found my shirt…hanging on a coat racket in the closet when I heard someone groan.

"Who's there?" I said, now fully awake and alert.

It was very dark and I couldn't see worth a rip. I slowly walked forward. Then I heard a noise…sounded a lot like something or someone scampering around. Must've been some animal. I continued walking forward and…oof! Bumped into something.

"Spiny?" I heard a girl's voice say.

"Is that you Lilia?"

"Yeah. What are we doing in a dark cabin?"

"I don't know. I don't remember getting inside. Last thing I remember was looking around for you because you suddenly disappeared. After that, it's just blackout."

I heard her sigh…then she squealed. What is it? What's wrong?"

"Spiny, turn around."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just turn around!"

"Um…ok." I turned around…or I think I did. It was so darn dark in there, I couldn't even tell if I'd turned around or not. Then I remembered. It was a new moon night, and on top of that, it was overcast and we were far away from city lights.

It was obvious that I wasn't going to be able to see anything.

"So, why am I supposed to turn around in the dark?"

"Because I barely realized that I was in my underwear."

HUH?!

"You too?"

"Yeah, I…wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Same thing happened with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I still haven't found my shirt."

She was silent for a while, then she said, "What the heck is going on around here?"

"I have no idea."

It was quiet for a while, then Lilia said, "Spiny, turn around and look at me."

"I think I am."

"What?"

"Well, it's so dark I can't see if I turned around or not."

"But you didn't see me when I was…"

I sighed. "No. I can't even see my nose in front of me. The last person who rented this cabin must've installed really dark curtains."

"All right. In that case, I need to ask you something."

"Funny time to be doing that, but go ahead."

"Did you…"

"What?"

"Well, we both woke up in the same cabin…and it's night time…and we were both almost undressed and…"

"Wait just a minute! Are you insinuating that I was capable of…"

"I'm not insinuating anything, Spiny! I'm just asking!"

"No, I DID NOT DO WHAT YOU'RE THINKING."

"All right. I just wanted to know, is all. I trust you."

Well, that was a relief.

Just then, I felt something push me from behind. I crashed into Lilia and we crashed into a wall. "Spiny, what are you doing?!"

"I'm not doing anything! Something pushed me from behind!"

"There's no one else in here except us!"

"That's what you think," said an unfamiliar voice. I was about to say "who's there," when a brilliant light suddenly flashed in front of me. The I heard a door slam open and shut and somebody running really quick.

"What was that?" said Lilia.

"That was…oh, no." I felt my heart up in my throat and my whole body froze in terror. It was all starting to make sense now. I wasn't sure if it was what I thought I was, but I wasn't taking any risks.

"Lilia. Get dressed and go home."

"What?"

"Just do what I tell you!" I quickly threw my shirt on and grabbed my coat and ran like greased lightning out of there. I kept running through the thick of dark. I pumped my legs and arms as hard as I could.

I was making a sharp turn to get back to the road when…oof! I bumped into something and bounced back. "Who's there?!"

"The Evil…uh, Evil…um…give me a minute to figure it out."

"Larry, what are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you. I've got terrible news."

"I can't talk now, Larry. I've got to get out of here."

"That's what I came to tell you."

"You came to tell me what?"

"That you need to get out of here as fast as you can and run to the Palace."

"Were you…watching everything with…one of your powers or something."

"Yes. And I've got to say something that will scare you to death."

"Well, hurry."

"Those were reporters."

I felt my heart stop beating. "Excuese me?"

"Some reporters knocked you and Lilia out, put you inside the cabin and then pushed you against her and took pictures."

My mouth was so dry that I couldn't even squeak from fear. My mouth was moving but no words or sounds were coming out.

"That's right," said Larry. "You…have…been…framed. They'll do anything to get you off the throne."

I finally recovered my voice. "AHHHHHH!" I pushed Larry out of the way and started running so fast, I was literally a speeding, haze, blurry object running across the ground. I reached the Palace Gates in record time. I was in the process of opening it, when out of nowhere a bunch of Palace Guards all jumped and tackled me.

"Intruder! We have an intruder!"

I kicked on of them off. "It's me, you idiots!" I yelled.

"Oh, sorry, sir. We thought you were…"

"Never mind. Let me in!"

They immediately opened the gates and I ran up the driveway and crashed through the doors and zoomed up the stairs at breakneck speed and into my room, closing and locking the door behind me.

Then I threw myself on my bed and started panting for breath, trying to recover my oxygen. Larry came in a little while later. "Oh, hey. Just came back from the kitchen. Patty was nailing some wooden boards on the hallway entrance to the kitchen. She was saying something about you never messing her kitchen again."

"Please, just please shut up!"

"Well…let's not jump to conclusions about what happened back there. Only time will tell if this will be a problem or not. Let's wait till tomorrow and see what happens."

I didn't get a wink of sleep for several hours that night. I kept tossing and turning that something had happened to that reporter. Maybe he broke his camera or it was stolen. Or maybe the pictures somehow got burned. I wouldn't want him to die, but…just get hurt enough so as to not be able to break the story.

I didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. So when I woke up, I was still kind of…well, you know. The feeling that you have when you only slept half the night but you know you have to get up.

I got up and stretched. Larry came in bursting in through the door. "Morning, Larry. Well…are we safe."

He was holding a newspaper. "Listen to this. _Scandal Clad Section: Anarchy in the Monarchy. Last night, at 8 pm, King Spiny Kyverná was found with his girlfriend Lilia Woods, both 14, illegally in a log cabin by Serow Lake. They were caught making out. Guess this means the end of the kingship, right?"_

My heart stopped beating. Again. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes," he said in a worried tone.

"What newspaper is that?"

"Amarkian News Gazette."

"Eek! That's the national official paper."

"Yep. And it occupies the entire front page, plus the entire newspaper. There's no sports, no comics, no weather forecast, no nothing!"

Gulp!

"Well…m-maybe it's just in the papers. You know how most people don't even read it today." I turned on the TV in the room. "AHHH! Larry look!"

There it was in the morning news. Same headline: _Anarchy in the Monarchy_. And…my picture. Oh man!

"Well, know what?" I said.

"Let me check. Just want to see if…" Larry got on my laptop and started to search for something. "Uh-oh. You're online, too."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. It's on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and every single news blog and news site."

I fell back on the bed. "Oh, no," I cried. Just then, my cell started ringing. I looked on the screen to see who it was. "Who is it?" said Larry.

I gulped and showed it to him. It said _Council of Elders_. That's never a good thing.


	6. Chapter 6

"Answer it," said Larry.

"Why should I? I'm innocent!" I replied.

"Just do it!"

I gulped and slid my shaky finger across the screen to answer. I cleared my throat and said in my most innocent voice, "Hello?"

"Spiny, how could you do such a thing?!"

I immediately responded. "I didn't anything! I'm innocent!"

He didn't sound the least bit convinced. "Sure, sure. You have your side."

"There aren't any sides! I-I was framed. I've been set up!"

"Come to the offices, now!"

"But I'm telling you that I'm…"

"NOW!"

 _Eesh!_

I sighed. "Well. Here I go. To Doom Alley."

"You want me to come along?" Larry asked me.

"Nah, it's all right. This is my problem. I'll see what I can do." I put on some clothes and sneaked down the hallway. I was really hoping that everyone was still asleep and hadn't seen the news yet. Or ever.

About fifteen minutes later, I reached the Amarkian Body of National Elders offices. They're basically a group of about fifteen or so composed of the wisest and most experienced older men of Amarkia. They're there to discipline any member of the Royal Family when they do something wrong.

This was ridiculous! Why the heck was everyone jumping to conclusions? Just because I'm a teenager doesn't mean I'm going to….I mean, just because a lot of other kids do it, that doesn't mean that I'll just automatically…I have a strict moral code and…ugh.

I went inside and presented myself before the Council of Elders. Oh boy. The Head of the Council, got up and said to me, "Spiny, we are very disappointed in you."

"Wait a minute!"

"Silence! We are very disappointed in you and are ashamed of what you've done!"

"What have I done? Nothing! That's what. I didn't do anything!"

"Stop it, Spiny. It won't work. Just tell the truth for once and be honest. Why did you do it?"

Usually, I try to be respectful and all that towards older people, but I'd just about reached my limit. Anymore of this and I'd start thinking that I'd really had done it. "Are you deaf or something?! I'm telling I didn't do it! Why aren't you listening?!"

Silence followed. They were all staring at me. I tried not to shake or anything. "Very well. What is your explanation?"

"Well, finally. Geez! All right. Here's what happened. First, I did have a date with my girlfriend. We had a picnic like we occasionally do. When it got late, we were walking by some cabins. All of the sudden, I lost consciousness and the next thing I know, I was inside an extremely dark cabin, in my underwear. Next thing I know, a bunch of flashing cameras. But nothing between my girlfriend and I happened."

They were all very attentive. This was crazy! If this didn't kill me, then the suspense would. Finally, the Head Elder stood up and said, "The Council will now consider the case and decide its verdict. We ask King Spiny to leave and to wait outside."

I got up and stepped outside the room. This was crazy! I know I said that already, but it is! This was the-the very last, absolutely last straw! I was tired of people trying to get me killed or dethroned! This was sick!

Who would be evil and selfish enough to do this to me?

(WOODS FAMILY RESIDENCE)

Lilia finally woke up from her heavenly dream. Like every night, she dreamed of Spiny taking her to the heaven of love and staying in his arms for all eternity. At times, she still could not believe that they were a couple.

She knew very well that she was not pretty, smart, or popular. Sometimes she wondered what he saw in herself. But she was convinced that he truly loved her. He had done so much for her, even the impossible.

Last night's events were still not clear, though. At times, the memory was hazy and other times, it was complete blackout. She still couldn't figure out how she lost consciousness and woke up in a cabin. And all those strange sounds…and the flashing lights. Hmm. She thought they might have been cameras, but she wasn't convinced.

Downstairs, her soon-to-become senior brother, Elijah finished fixing his homemade-frappe mocha that he needed so badly. He was still in his pajamas and his bathrobe. Around the house, summer vacation was the only time when Mom wouldn't fly through the roof if they woke up after 7:15.

He grabbed his French toast and dropped on the couch and grabbed the remote. "Scandal of the Millennium. Last night, our cameras just happened to fall upon this sight: King Spiny in a cabin, which he did not rent, about to make intense love to his girlfriend Lilia Woods, 14 years of age."

Elijah spit his coffee and it sprayed all over the TV screen. "What the heck!"

Before he could grab a paper towel to wipe the screen and the remote to turn to volume up, the doorbell rang. His eyes still glued to the screen, he opened the door. He turned around and looked right into the face of fifty flashing cameras and about 70 different reporters.

"Mr. Woods. What do you think this?"

"Why would your sister and the King do such a thing?"

He covered his eyes, which had purple and white dots now. "Ahh! Please, stop taking pictures." It didn't work. The reporters started taking even more pictures. "WILL YOU STOP TRYING TO BLIND ME!?"

Finally, the flashing stopped. "All right. Now, what's this about what my sister did?"

"Don't you watch the news, son? Look!" He handed him the newspaper with the headline Anarchy in the Monarchy. Elijah skimmed it over, trying to hide his shock. He knew from Spiny's conversations that reporters, especially scandal reporters were cruel, inhumane, and merciless.

"Do you have reliable sources?" Elijah asked.

"Extremely reliable," the man answered.

"Well, then you either don't or you just made the greatest technical error in the history of the media and the press. There is no way that my sister and Spiny would…you know."

"It's called sex, son. Didn't you ever go to Biology class?"

"All I mean is that I can't believe it."

The reporter placed his hand on Elijah's shoulder. "I understand. You're shocked, like all of us."

"No, when I mean I don't believe it, I literally mean that I don't believe it. I refuse to believe all this foolishness. It's nothing but gossip based on false rumors and unreliable facts."

"Son, you're insulting freedom of the press."

"Freedom of the press does not give you the right to invent stories and make the people involved in it miserable. Just like freedom of speech doesn't give anyone the right to insult others."

"Son, don't be oblivious. Why don't you just accept it?"

"Because I refuse to believe that my sister Lilia would ever…huh, maybe Rebecca would, but Mom would punish her so bad that…" he had forgotten to lower his voice.

Suddenly, the cameras started flashing again. "Ah ha!" said the reporter at the door. "Notice, how he confessed that his other sister would. And we all know that sisters always copy each other. Logically, it means that we now have further proof."

"But, but, but,"

"Thank you so much, son. You've just helped us get the juiciest story in history. This will make us rich."

"No! Wait! I mean, I didn't mean to…" It was too late. They had all left, extremely happy and content. He turned around and went back inside. Well, now I've really done it. Real smooth, dude. That was real smooth. This is bad.

Lilia was there. "What was all that racket outside?"

Elijah glared at her and crossed his arms. "Are you still a virgin?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you still a virgin?"

"Elijah David Woods. Have you absolutely and completely lost your marbles?!"

"Answer the question, little sister."

"First, I demand to ask what makes you ask such a question."

"All right, all right. I'll tell you." He grabbed the newspaper the reporter had given him and he handed it to her. She took it and started looking at the front page. She felt her entire body freeze and her heart stopped beating.

"Well?"

"Where'd you get this?"

"I got it from a reporter. There was almost a hundred of them at our front door. They nearly blinded me for life with all those cameras flashing."

 _Ding!_ Something ringed in Lilia's mind. Flashing lights. That's it! That's what she'd seen last night. "Oh…my gosh!"

"What?"

"I think we're in deep trouble."

"So you did do it!"

"Of course not! I'm still a virgin all the way, you dummy!"

"Well, then, why are you in trouble."

"I may need to explain this some to you. Before Mom and Dad find out." She pointed at the couch. "Please sit down."

(COUNCIL OF ELDER OFFICES)

This was…you guess it: crazy. It was now almost noon. I'd been here since nine in the morning. This was really getting annoying. Weren't they getting anywhere? How long did I have to pretend to tie my shoelaces so I could listen through the door and…

Whoa, wait. I didn't say…you probably thought I said….all right. I was listening through the door. So far, they were discussing stuff with the Investigation Committee.

"I still can't believe he committed this atrocity," one of them said. Great, now they were using big words.

"Well, we can't jump to any conclusions yet. It still may be a hit gossip news story," said another of the elders.

"Well, I don't know. He says he was attacked, but I see no signs of attack on his body," said the Head of the Investigation.

"Well, I guess it's time to bring him in again." I heard footsteps. I quickly got back in my chair and tried to look normal…well, as normal as anyone would be in my situation. That's pretty much next to impossible.

I sat down in…well, the hot seat you might say.

"You say you were attacked, but we see no physical evidence of that. How did you say you blacked out?"

Was that even the right way of saying it? Well, who cares? "I don't know. Like I said, that part is kind of hazy. All I know is that I was there walking one minute, and the next thing I know, I wake up about half an hour later inside the cabin. A cabin, which by the way, I did not have a key to."

"Hmm. Well, according the Investigation Committee, there are no signs of physical injury on you. So, it couldn't have been a strike or blunt on the head."

"However, there signs of you having been injected several times on the back on your head," said the Head of the IC.

HUH? "Say what?"

"That's right. You have lots of injection holes on the back of your neck."

That was impossible. I didn't have any memory of…that was weird. I was about to say that when I heard Larry's voice in my mind. "Keep your mouth shut!"

I looked around me. He wasn't here. Then I said in my mind, "Are you communicating through the mind."

"Yes, and don't say what you're about to say."

"Why not?"

"Because it won't help you. Those injections have nothing to do with how you blacked out."

"How do you know?"

"I should. This morning, I gave you several shots of adrenaline to wake you up faster."

"You did what?!"

"Spiny, please answer," said one of the elders.

"Huh?"

"Answer the question. Do you have memory of being injected?"

"Um…those are, uh, adrenaline shots my assistant gave me to wake up."

"Well…in that case, we have to rule out that possibility. There is no possibility that an adrenaline shot could knock you out. It would make you more awake and alert."

My mind started racing. There had to be a logical explanation. I know there had to be. Wait! I just thought of something. "Hey, I know! What if someone took some anesthetic, put it on a towel, and put it over my nose!"

"Do you remember this?"

"Well, I don't know. Like I said, it's kind of hazy. But it's possible, isn't it?"

"Maybe. But, in any case, we'll now retire to reach our decision." All of the elders stood up and went to the adjacent room.

Well, this was another fine mess I got myself into! This was all someone's fault! Why did He make me so desirable and adorable?! Well, that's more like vanity than anything else, right? Never mind what I just said.

After another half hour, they came out. "We have reached our decision. For now, you will not be judge because of lack of evidence." Well that was a relief. I do hope you noticed the sarcasm in that last sentence. "However, just in case, we are removing all of you political powers."

Oh, well, that….HUH?! SAY WHAT?! "Now, go home."

This was an infamy! This was preposterous! "You're not serious, are you? Removing my powers as King? Isn't that a little dramatic?"

"If you continue to misbehave, you will be completely removed."

Continued? Misbehaved? Oh, this was rich! This was really rich! I really hoped someone was enjoying this, because I wasn't! I silently stood up and walked away. When I drove home, I took the side roads and dirt roads. I didn't want to run into anybody.

I was in a very, very, very, VERY bad mood. And believe me, friend, when I'm this mad, I don't want to be near anyone, not even girls. When I'm so mad I don't want to be around girls, then it means it's really bad.

I got home at around…ah! Who cares what time it was?! It was almost two in the afternoon. As soon as I got in, I went up to my room. Larry was there, reading a book in his black leather chair. He saw me and immediately got up. "What happened?"

I looked at him funny. "Why are you asking? Weren't you listening?"

"No. After I talked to you, I left and got to do other things."

I crossed my arms. "My powers as King have been reduced completely."

His eyes turned into huge plates. Empty, of course. "You're…kidding!"

"I wish I was. Good thing is, they haven't pinned anything on me yet."

"I should hope not. It really hurts, especially if it's with those small things that girls use with clothes."

I stared at him and sighed. "When I say pinned, I'm using a metaphor. It means that I haven't been proven guilty of anything. Officially, of course. The media have taken charge of ruining it. All I need now is for something else to happen."

You're not going to believe this, but at that moment, the phone rang. And guess what the ID caller said? Yep. Council of Elders.

"I think it's about to," Larry said, now sounding more concerned.


	7. Chapter 7

I…gulp!...very shakily answered the phone. "Hello?" I was no nervous my voice broke. And that rarely happens. My voice hasn't even started to change yet. I mean, I don't sound like a 10-year-old, but…you know what I mean.

"Spiny, just one last thing."

"Yes?"

"For reasons of…security shall we say, stay away from Lilia."

"Say WHAT?!"

"Stay away from Lilia. Don't go visit her or anything."

"But I'm innocent I, I, I…" he hung up. "Well, this is the perfect disaster, if I ever saw one! How can this be happening to me?"

Larry shrugged. "It's quite easy. Someone sets you up, and now you're suffering the consequences."

"Larry, I am not in the mood to hear your stupidities."

"Well, you'll be hearing plenty on the streets."

(AT AN AMARKIAN RESTAURANT)

"I don't believe it, I just don't believe it," said the young man looking at the news on the TV. The headline had been the same everywhere: Anarchy in the Monarchy.

"Me neither. I can't believe he did that," said his companion.

"No, what I mean is, I really don't believe it. He would never do that. We know our King pretty well."

"Do we?"

"Oh, come on. Our King is not like other country leaders. He directly interacts with his citizens every day! We see him practically all the time out on the streets with his friends."

"Yes, and especially with that Lilia."

"Well, so what? A lot of boys that age have girlfriends and they never do anything indecent."

"Most of them."

"Maybe, but not all of them, and especially not here in Amarkia."

"Are you defending his actions?" He was starting to get angry.

"I'm not defending anything, because he hasn't done anything. You know as well as I do that reporters will do anything to get a hot story out. You're just helping spread those blabbermouths."

He pushed his friend against the counter. "Oh, is that how you want it?"

They both lunged for each other and started wrestling on the floor. Soon, they were throwing things at each other, hitting others and provoking more fights.

A unit of Royal Guards burst in the door. "What's going on here?!"

"All right, break it up!" said another guard. "Inform the King that we have a case of civil unrest."

(BACK AT THE PALACE. AN HOUR LATER)

"You mean to tell me that there have been fistfights over me?" I was completely shocked.

"Exactly. There have been about 28 arrests so far and 14 injuries. The good thing is that no guns were used. If that had happened…just imagine."

I shuddered. "I can't think of that, much less imagine it." I stood up and stepped out the room.

"Where are you going?"

"I need a break from all this. I'm going to take a walk."

"Are you sure that's safe? Some people actually want you dead."

"Oh, don't exaggerate! I go out the secret exit and disguise myself."

"How are you planning to do that? You're very recognizable. You're the only kid who's got an 80's style haircut."

"Will you just stop worrying already?" I left the room and went down the stairs. Geez! Anymore of this craziness, and I would literally lose my mind. I went out the secret exit, and was wearing a blue sweater with the hood over my head and regular jeans and sneakers. I decided to go down to Arnold's and get something to eat and then maybe go to the library.

They'd never think I was hiding there.

Only thing was that, uh, I had a slight detour. Guess what I found at the entrance to Arnold's?

A protest. That's right. A demonstration. About a dozen or so people were there, shouting who-knows-what. I was too far away to hear. But not to see. They each had signs that said Spiny the Fornicator! Fornicator?! This was too much!

I had a good mind to…calm down, Spiny. Calm down. Chill. Don't let your temper guide your judgement. I was in the process of calming myself down when another group of people came down the street with their own signs.

Only these signs said If you're not a coward, reveal yourself, framer. Another one said, Our Spiny is Innocent. Well, that was more like it! They saw the group in front of Arnold's and quickly went over to them.

Like I said, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but you could tell that they were definitely not wishing each other a good day. I could see them making faces at each other and got to hear indistinct yelling. I knew it was dangerous, but I "causally" started walking closer to be able to hear.

"He did not do it!" said one of the group who were on my side.

"He's the very shame of this nation! He has ruined the great Amarkian monarchy!" said the leader of the other group.

I can't reveal what else they said, because uh, their language became…well, obscene. They started calling each other nasty things. I mean, the nicest said in that verbal exchange was "two-timing, backstabbing, good-for-nothing rebel." Just imagine what was the meanest thing said!

Actually, never mind. I don't want you to learn bad words because of me. Just don't tell your parents because they'll kill me.

Really. Don't.

Anyways, they started insulting each other.

Then it got REALLY bad. In the middle of the yelling, we hear a loud BANG! Everyone got quiet. Then I saw what they were all staring at. Someone had shot a sign from the other side with a gun.

I didn't really care which side had shot. It didn't matter now. I was out of here! I stared to back up and….darn it! What idiot got the idea to put a sign on the street! Ok, it's logic. But as I turned around to run, I ran smack face-first into the pole of a STOP sign. And that's really hard stuff!

Man, did that thing hurt! And I do mean HURT. Not only did it nearly mash my face up, it made me fall back and I hit my head on the sidewalk. That hurt even more. Only bad thing was that I yelled from pain and when I got up, the hoodie went down.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

"He's the shame of this country!"

"Kill him!"

I'm out of here! I pumped my legs and started running for my very life. Only this time, the ones who wanted to kill me were my own people!

(FIVE BLOCKS TO THE NORTH)

Larry finished his super-size hot dog in one swallow. He figured he needed a rest from all the chaos that was ensuing. He was looking down at his feet, wondering what would happen if he used on of his powers to crash the sidewalk, when he bumped into a man.

Larry fell back and hit his head. It hurt really bad, but he quickly got up. The man was about twice his size and seemed to be in his early 40s. He hadn't been knocked out. Larry noticed something peculiar. He was reading the front page of the paper. That same old headline again. Anarchy in the Monarchy. He was also laughing. He seemed to be laughing…evilly. As if he was happy with what was happening.

"Excuse me?"

The man yelled and quickly turned around. "Yes?"

"Sorry, I just bumped into you. I wondered if you could step aside so that I may continue walking."

"Oh, uh, ahem. Sure, sure. Go ahead."

"Thank you." Larry kept walking until the man looked away. Larry quickly dashed behind the nearest bush. The man finished laughing and started walking…into an alley? Hmm. Larry quietly and discreetly scurried behind him.

At the entrance to the alley, he noticed the man's shadow opening and closing a door on the backside of an old, abandoned building. Hmmmm. He scurried and walked around the back of the building. He gently opened the door, hoping it was oiled and it wouldn't squeak.

The door silently opened and Larry, still glued to the ground, scurried in. It was very dark at first, but he quickly noticed a single lightbulb down the hallway. He heard the sounds of chattering and laughter. He quickly ran over until he was almost in the middle of the group of men.

"I can't believe it was so successful!" said the man he'd seen on the street.

"Well, the UN couldn't remove Spiny. But his own people can! Gentlemen, in less than two weeks, the retched monarchy will be history and Spiny will not live to see another day! Then will have democracy, and we might even rule things!"

The group of men erupted into laughter. The leader poured beer into their tall glasses and raised it. "A toast, men, to the success of Operation Overthrow-the-Dictator."

They all said, "Cheers," and drank beer.

Larry narrowed his eyes until they became slits. So, that's the way you want to play, huh? Well, buddy, you're about to get a big surprise! He turned around and quickly scampered out of the building.

(ON THE STREETS NEAR SAUROPOLIS)

I ran like there was no tomorrow. I think I broke my own speed record. I mean, I was really running for it. Those people behind me were determined to get me. They seemed to be closer and closer. And every time they got closer, it seemed as if there was more and more of them.

I saw the Palace Gates in front of me. "Open the gates!" I yelled as hard as I could. "Open the gates!"

The Palace Guards saw what was happening and quickly did as I said. As I made the sharp left turn to get inside the safety of the Palace Walls, I tripped over my foot and started falling backwards.

Fortunately, the guards caught me and pushed me inside, sealing the Gates behind me. Phew! If I had fallen, not only would have I hit my head again and possibly got my ankle broken, I would've been easy target for the protesters.

I got up and dusted myself and looked through the Gates. The guards were holding all those people who were desperate to break the Gates. "Why have you done this?!" one of them yelled.

"You're the shame of Amarkia!"

"You deserve to die!"

I yelled in my loudest voice, "I've said it a thousand times…I DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

Well, that certainly did more harm than good. The guy with the gun started shooting at me! Yikes! Goodbye, Charlie for me! I turned around and run up the steps to the entrance and went flying in through the front doors, just as a bullet hit the doorknob.

I locked the door and collapsed on the floor. Phew! What a day!

What a life!

But, hey! I never asked to be King. If those unknown bastards had never killed my parents then I wouldn't be in any of the messes I always get myself into!

At least I was safe. For now, of course.

My life was in real jeopardy. This was more dangerous than the UN. My own people had more chances of getting rid of me.


	8. Chapter 8

I guess I fainted from all the craziness because next thing I knew I was in my bed. This was getting weird, creepy, and scary. I was getting scared that one of these times I would faint and wake up in a hospital, at the edge of a cliff, against a shooting squad, or perhaps…gulp!...never wake up at all.

"Ugh…what happened? Where am I?"

"You fainted and you're in your room," Larry said.

"Uh…what time is it?"

"It's fifteen minutes till four."

I sighed. "Larry, remind me of something important."

"What?"

"When we get this situation all resolved, if we do, remind me to resign as King and become a backwoods-man."

"Spiny…"

"It's no use, Larry. You and me and the whole family are resigning and moving to the back of the woods where there are no rebels, no evil plots, and the only friends we'll have are little furry animals that will feed out of our hands!"

"Spiny, don't exaggerate. You're making a grain of mount out of a sand."

I stood up and looked at him. "What?"

"No, I mean, don't make a grain of sand out of a mount."

"What?!"

"No! I mean, uh, don't make a mount of sand out of a grain. No! NO! I mean to say…"

"Forget it, Larry. Just leave it at that. If not you'll end up embarrassing me. I know what you mean. I'm just sick and tired of having to go through these situations."

"No one said being a King would be a walk in the park."

"Oh, it is. It is. It's like walking through a park full of loose monsters and you're alone on an empty tropical island."

"Are you copying Jurassic Park?"

"OH! You know what I mean!" I fell back on the pillow and was about to turn around to see if I could fall asleep, my cell rang. All right! That did it! I wasn't going to stand this anymore! I grabbed my phone and answered it. "Listen, you! This is the 3rd time you've called! I've had it with you and your accusations! If you don't believe me, fine, but don't make my life a misery!"

"When have I done that?" said Lilia's voice.

Gasp! Lilia?! "Is…is that you, Lilia?"

"Yes, it's me. And what's the matter with you?"

Oh, boy. That was just what I needed. I gulped, feeling my face getting hot. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I thought it was the…I thought it was someone else. I didn't see who was talking."

"Well…all right. I just wanted to call you. Think you can come over?"

Man, I almost said yes! But for many obvious reasons, I said, "No, I can't. I'm not allowed to."

"Not allowed to?! Says who?"

"The Council of Elders. They still aren't entirely convinced I'm innocent, and I'm not allowed to see you."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, well, I feel even worse. This has been the worst day in three days. I still haven't gotten over what the UN did to me and now this."

"Hmm. Well, I just wanted to call you to see how you were."

"Oh, just fine. I just woke up today for the 3rd time."

"The third time?"

"Yes. I have fainted, lost consciousness, or have blacked out three times today."

"Really? How come?"

"I guess it's all the craziness of the situation."

"Sorry to hear that. I know this won't help you feel better, but…I hope you feel better."

I smiled. "Thanks, Lilia. You always know what to say in rough situations."

"Well, I know how hard it's been. My phone hasn't stopped ringing. All my friends have ditched me and all my former teachers have said how disappointed they are." I could hear her voice starting to quiver. "It's not fair! How can anyone be so cruel and heartless to you? They're ruining our lives! We can't even be together! I want to be with you! Without people thinking we're going to do something stupid!"

I bit my lip about halfway through and by the time she stopped talking, she was crying and I felt tears running down my cheek. I cleared my throat and tried not to whimper, "Please don't cry, Lilia. I'll try and see how I can solve this mess. But don't cry. Okay?"

She sniffled and said in a shaky voice. "Okay."

I sighed. "I love you. Very much."

"I love you, too. I really do."

She hung up and I lay there, staring into empty space. That did it. That really, really, REALLY, REALLY did it. I was going to get to the bottom of this. I was going to find out who had done this evil thing to me. I was going to do it. I was going to prove to my people and to my world that I was innocent from the start. I was going to teach them a lesson. Even if it cost me my life, I was going to clear my name and vindicate the Amarkian monarchy, which has been preserved for 95 million years.

I turned to Larry. He had a look of strength and determination in his eyes. "Let's do it."

I didn't need to ask how he knew what I was thinking. "Where do we start?"

He began to think. "Let me see here…"

Someone knocked on the door. Then Robert's face appeared. "Um, Spiny. Have you got a moment?"

"All right, but hurry up. I'm in the middle of something important."

"Well, I, uh, have a confession to make."

"Robert, now I don't have time for your personal problems."

"It's got to do with you."

That got my attention. "All right. What is it?"

"Yesterday when I was talking a walk, I bumped into this guy. He looked very mysterious and had a scar on his left cheek. He asked me if I was Robert. When I said yes, he said, "I wonder where the King is going this evening,' and then I told him where. Then he said, 'Very interesting,' and he left."

My heart started to pound around in my chest. "You…did…WHAT?!" I lunged at him, but Larry grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me back.

"Wait, just a minute! Robert, did he have a dark denim jacket?"

"Yes?"

"Had sort of gray at the temple?"

"Yes!"

"And was he wearing ostrich boots?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That's him!"

I stared at Larry. "You mean…you know the guy who's behind this?"

"No, but we're just starting to get to know each other. I bumped into him earlier today. He was happy about the whole situation and I even followed him into a dark alley. It's all a plot to remove you…or us from the monarchy."

"You mean…they want all of us…out of the picture?" Robert asked.

"Yes, and that's all I'll reveal. This is Spiny's problem. We don't want to worry the rest of the family."

"That's right. Now go on to your room or play video games or something. And not a word to Patty about this. If she asks anything, just tell her Larry and I went out."

"What if she asks where?" Larry said.

"Don't worry. Patty isn't like that, but Kathy is. Patty only asks once and she's satisfied with whatever answer you give her."

"Oh, ok. Now come on! Let's get some justice done around here!"


	9. Chapter 9

Larry and I agreed to wait until later in the evening. If we went now in the full light of day, it would be too obvious. If we waited till night, it would be too suspicious or maybe the crooks didn't meet at night to avoid suspicion.

So we waited until about 6:15 in the evening when the sun was low enough in the sky but not too much.

We got into another, more regular-looking vehicle. I really need to get a car. Anyways, we got into one of Larry's spy cars. Of course, it doesn't look like one. It's a big van that's deep blue with flames on it. No one would think we were in that. We drove that out the secret driveway and Larry drove over to the spot where he'd bumped into the man.

We waited there for about fifteen minutes. I was about to tell Larry that I was giving up, when he elbowed me—ouch!—and pointed in front of us. There he was. Description: Height: 6 ft. 3 inches. Maybe about 182 pounds in weight, most of which were…gulp…muscle. Broad shoulders, thick arms, short black hair and gray at the temples. And yep…he had a scar on his left cheek and the clothing also matched our description.

"That's our man," Larry said in a low voice.

I nodded in agreement.

The man looked around and walked down the alley behind the abandoned courthouse. Larry grabbed his M-Heckler & Koch MP5 and I got my SIG Pro automatic pistol. I really do hate to use force, but sometimes it is necessary.

Anyways, at Larry's directions, we both quietly got out of the van and followed the man into the alley. I was getting scared. I mean, who wouldn't be? There's no telling what they had in their hiding place. Or whom. For all I know, they might've been from ISIS or some other terrorist organization.

We scurried in and caught the man's shadow going into a door. "That's their hiding place," Larry whispered. We both came up sneakily and Larry opened the door gently. Once inside, we closed the door, nearly slamming it, but stopping it just in time.

I guess the tension and the nerves were getting to us. Anyways, we crept down the dark hallway. I was really hoping that the hallway was clear. If we tripped over something…or if someone could see us from the sides…it was really going to be goodbye, Charlie.

We heard laughter at a room at the end of the hallway. Phew! Finally some light. We backed against a table that hid us pretty well. This was a good place. We were close enough to hear every word that was said, but also a good running distance in case we needed to…you know…escape.

"Joe, Joe, Joe," said one of the men. In a happy voice, I might add. "How you doing?"

"Just fabulous. Couldn't be better."

"How's the story spreading?"

"Like wildfire. Everyone is believing it."

Then a deeper voice said, "Good work, Joe. Good work."

I quickly turned to Larry. "Quick! Film this!" He grabbed his indestructible camera and started filming everything. Something told me I would need that.

"Thank you, boss. At the rate we're going, Spiny will be replaced in no time." Those words started making me shake. But not with fear. I started to tremble with anger. I bared my teeth and cocked my gun ready.

Larry must've noticed because he whispered, "Not yet, Spiny. Not yet."

The men continued talking. "Hey, Joe. Want a sniff?"

"Sure."

I looked to take a peek and…not only were they plotting against me…they were making marijuana! Holy cats, I'd been framed by an illegal drug group! It was starting to be like Mexico.

"Ahh. Feels so refreshing."

"This is going just as planned," said the boss. "Sales of our stuff on the black market have gone up 40% since this morning!"

"With that kind of money, we'll be able to keep paying those reporters to spread the story."

Another man said, "And we'll also be able to pay people to cause all those fistfights and vandalism."

"I would really like to see Arnold's burn down thanks to us," said Joe.

"I'd like to see the Palace burn down."

"Well, not that," said the boss. "When Spiny is replaced, he'll leave a big space. And we can use that to our pleasure! Who knows how many riches and secrets he's got!"

They all laughed.

I was far from happy. For the first time in months, I changed to dinosaur form. My sail turned deep red and I small but steady growl started to form in my throat.

"All the evidence will point towards him. He has no way of proving his innocence," said Joe.

"Yes, yes. Like you said. It's only a matter of time," said the 2nd man.

"And his stupid brother, Robert gave us the info we needed to make this great plan," said the boss. "With a brother as stupid as that, and a King as gullible as Spiny, this will be a piece of cake!"

My heart started pounding harder and harder. The growl was growing and starting to get louder. My tail stiffened and my muscles started to beg me to do something.

"There is nothing he can do to stop his own people from going up against him. And who knows, gentlemen, he may end up in prison or in exile."

"Or even killed," said Joe.

The boss laughed. "That's an occasion I'd pay anything to see. Maybe we can bribe them to do it. Even tomorrow!"

"And when he's gone, it'll leave new forms of government. We will rule however we please and make the people forget the monarchy's ridiculous ideas."

"Ha!" said the 3rd man. "I still can't believe that most of Amarkian laws or based on Biblical principles."

"That's the first thing we'll take care of. We'll ban all religion and institute martial law permanently. And if anyone doesn't accept our ideas, then it's the end for them."

They drank some more beer. Then Joe said, "I have a good idea, if you want to hear it."

"Sure, sure. Speak," said the boss.

"Well, with Spiny gone…someone will have…you know…take charge of his sister and his cousin."

They all started to go, "Ahhh."

"We could use more girls in our illegal nightclubs."

My heart was pounding so hard that Larry could hear it. The growl was getting louder and louder. My muscles were tensing and my arms were involuntarily flexing. My claws and my talons sharpened. My teeth got sharper, also and saliva started dripping off my front teeth.

"And if they don't want to…well, too bad. I won't let a good chick's body go to waste."

"And what about that Lilia?" said the 2nd man.

"Oh, we don't need her anymore. She's done her job," said the boss.

"Oh, come on, boss, she's even hotter."

"Nah, she's kinda nerdy. Don't need that kind of girl to entertain me. We can get rid of her tomorrow if we can."

"Or we can just set fire to her house," said Joe.

"That's an idea."

The growl in my throat was very loud now and it was starting to turn into a snarl. My vision started getting red. My skin was turning black and I was one inch from losing it.

And instead of being pushed one inch by their comments, I was pushed twenty million light years. "No matter what happens to his dear loved ones, one thing is for sure: that stupid, idiotic, good-for-nothing Spiny is going down!" He slammed his fist on the table. "He is going DOWN!" He slammed it again. Every time he did it, I lost it a little bit more. "HE…..IS…..GOING…..D-O-W-N-! DOOOWWWNNNN! And he's taking everything a long with it!"

They all laughed. All 15 of them laughed super loud.

That did it.

That was the last straw.

I opened my mouth and let out the loudest, greatest, most thunderous and blood-curling roar you can imagine. It was so loud you could hear car alarms and windows breaking and beams moaning.

After I stopped roaring I yelled in an almost-equally loud voice, "THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!"

I jumped in the air and headed right for the leader of the group. You should've seen their faces. Completely speechless would be a major, major understatement. I just can't describe it in words. You'd have to see it for yourself.

Anyways, I pounced on the leader. "Geronimo!" Larry yelled behind me as he started attacking the others. I grabbed the guy by the neck and we started wrestling. We kicked and punched and rolled and bumped into things. I sank my teeth into his forearm and dug my claws wherever I could.

It was truly a sight to see. For those how are not weak of heart or stomach, of course. After about a few minutes, the guy punched me in the gut and sent me flying against a wall. That bang really damaged my head. I suddenly felt very weak.

The guy started walking towards me. He had the most evil smile a human could have. He grabbed my gun and put it one inch from my brain. He cocked it and put his finger on the trigger. "You just made my job easier."

I closed my eyes and prayed to say thanks for the life I'd had and that my family and my people would be taken care of. I was in the middle of saying "amen" when I heard a loud boom.

Well, this was it. I'd been fatally shot and…wait. Hold it just a cotton-tail picking minute. If I'd been fatally shot, then why didn't I feel it or die? I mean, you feel a gunshot in the head when you get one, right?

Then what was that BOOM! noise? I opened my eyes. The boss was no longer standing up. He was lying on the floor…lifeless?! Larry was behind him, holding his gun. "I called backup. Let's get out of here while the getting's good!" Larry helped me up and we started to run towards the entrance.

The rest of the men were quickly following us.

We were about fifteen feet from freedom when we heard a terrible CRASH! We all looked around us. The old building had just picked the worst moment in the world to die. The ceiling started coming apart and beams and plaster started falling everywhere. Larry and I made a run for it.

Ten feet from the exit, I felt a huge blow on the back of my head. I collapsed on the ground and saw that a huge chunk of ceiling had crushed me. Larry stopped at the entrance and looked back and saw me. "Spiny! I'll get you out!"

"NO! Don't help me! Take the video! Give it to all the news networks! Let the world now!"

At first he hesitated. But then one of the men nearly shot him down and instead hit a fire extinguisher. He ran out of the building. After that, I heard a huge crack above me. A piece of metal reinforcement came loose and fell on me.

That's the last thing I saw before everything went pitch-black.


	10. Chapter 10

(SAUROPOLIS GENERAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL)

Three hours later. 8:37 pm.

Larry stared at Spiny's paralyzed body on the hospital bed. Lilia was sitting in the chair behind him. Kathy was fully recovered from her surgery and was in her wheelchair. She never imagined that the first time she saw her brother in weeks would be paralyzed on a hospital bed.

"I can't believe what those fools were doing!" she cried out.

"It's all right now. I killed their leader and those who didn't die when the building collapsed and escaped have been arrested and captured. They've been charged with conspiracy, rebellion, attempted murder, corruption, running of underground nightclubs, prostitution, selling and possession of illegal items and a bunch of other stuff. That's going to be them death sentences for sure."

"How about the reporters who were bribed?" Lilia asked.

"We're still looking for them. They're going to get it bad, too."

Spiny's head moved around. He was back in human form. His brilliant blue eyes opened and darted around. "Larry!" He quickly stood up and went over to him. "Right here, Spiny."

"Oh, Spiny, you're okay!" Lilia cried out.

Spiny had never felt so weak and terrible in his life. His headache was horrific and he felt sweltering. "The…video…Larry…"

"It's okay, Spiny. I already sent it to the news networks. It'll be broadcasted nationally on every TV and radio station, on every mobile device, on every blog and news site and in every paper."

"Look!" Kathy pointed at the TV.

"Yes, we have just received this video from an anonymous source in the King's administration which as you can see in fully on our website, shows as a group of men, illegally making drugs and talking about the incident last night. They planned and bribed reporters to take those photos and were the ones responsible for the entire frame-up. Tragically, the building collapsed and although the leader and most of the group were killed, the King was severely injured and is now in critical condition in the hospital. The remaining men have been arrested on several felonies and will most likely be given the death sentence. A search has also been started for the bribed reporters who will also be arrested." The camera turned to the Head Elder of the Council. "I just want to say I'm…I'm sorry, Spiny. But you have to understand…we didn't want to let our emotions get in the way of our duty."

The camera turned to a man with several injuries on his face. "Well, I'm sorry I doubted him. I'm sorry I called him a fornicator and said he was the shame of this country. Heh. I'm sorry I was the one who almost killed him, too."

Spiny smiled. At least now everyone knew. His name was cleared. Everything began to get blurry. "Larry…dizzy…dizzy...hot."

Larry touched his forehead. "He's burning with fever!"

"Oh, my gosh! Get the doctor, quick!" Lilia yelled.

Larry jumped out the room and brought back the doctor, dragging him by the nose. "He's getting fever and he says he's dizzy."

"All right, everyone out. I need to be alone."

"Come on, girls," Larry said, taking them into the hallway. They waited impatiently. They were all crossing their fingers and biting their nails. Finally, the doctor came out. "What is it, doctor? Is he all right?" Lilia asked anxiously.

"How is he?" Larry said.

"He started having a considerable fever, dizziness, and muscle pain." He took a deep breath. "He's slipped into a severe coma."

Lilia collapsed on the floor and started sobbing. "NO! No! Spiny! Spiny!"

The doctor knelt down grabbed Lilia by the shoulder. "He's not dead, sweetie. He's in a coma. It must've been from that tremendous blow he got on the head by that beam."

"How long will it last?" Kathy asked.

"That's hard to tell. A coma can last from five days up to several years. He may spend the rest of his life in a coma. Or he may just die while in coma. We can't be sure. All we can do is hope for the best. However, if it does seem severe enough, we will give him an oxygen supply to try to shorten it. He also needs immediate head surgery to avoid any more damage to the brain."

Kathy wiped the tears from her eyes. "Can…can we go see him?"

"Yes, but he will not respond. He can hear you, but he can't move or respond."

Larry and the girls walked back in. Larry turned to the girls. "You want to go first?"

"Go ahead," said Kathy to Lilia.

She shook her head. "No, he's your brother."

"So? He's your boyfriend. Go."

Lilia slowly walked up to Spiny. She took his hand and said, "Hey, Spiny. I'm back. I miss you." Her voice started breaking. "You really owe me a date, you fool! I love you!" She sobbed and her face fell on his chest.

She looked up and kissed his lips, which were still warm and soft. She caressed his cheek and stepped back. Kathy came up. "Hey, bro. How you doing? Doctor told us you need a little operation. Guess they're going to finally fix your mental problems," she said laughing.

She leaned over and kissed Spiny's cheek. She looked at Larry. "You want to say something to him?"

Larry tried to swallow the knot that had formed in his throat. He was not the sentimental guy. He was not easily touched or moved unless it was extremely an emotional situation. He tried to control his tear glands with his Biology Power.

He shook his head. "Not right now. I have something to do first." He ran out the room and went jumping out the nearest window. He landed four stories on his feet and jumped into his car.

The tires screeched as he raced out of the driveway back to the Palace. He nearly crashed into the Palace Gates as they were being opened. He jumped inside and went up to Robert's room. From outside, you could hear Robert's voice screaming, "NOOOO!"

"And that's not all, Robert," Larry told him.

"You mean there's more?"

"Well, look. Spiny is now…incapacitated to rule. And Amarkia needs a ruler. You're next in line."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're next, buddy-o."

"But…I already did that when the UN came here."

"No, no, no. You didn't take Spiny's place as ruler. You were only a military leader for people to look up to in Spiny's absence. Now, you have to take the complete responsibility of being the leader of the entire country. Sort of a substitute King."

"Larry! I'm barely 12 years old!"

"So what? Spiny's been ruling for 1,945 years, since he was 11 ½. He's been the youngest King ever to rule and definitely one of the most successful, popular and best rulers in Amarkian history. You can do it. I'm just telling you this so that you'll prepare yourself."

Robert sighed and wiped his eyes dry. "Well…okay."

Larry nodded. "Good. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow may be a very hard day for you." Larry patted him on the shoulder and ran out the Palace at breakneck speed and drove back to the hospital. The girls were no longer there.

Someone had also turned off the lights. The only light was a small lamp on the table beside Spiny's bed and the tiny crescent moon that was just coming out of its new moon phase. "Spiny? Spiny? Can you even try to respond? Can you moan or groan or something?" Then Larry thought to himself, _Of course. Why didn't I think of it? I'll use my powers to travel into his subconscious. That part of him has got to be awake. Larry closed his eyes and concentrated really hard._

He opened his eyes and saw…Spiny's subconscious mind around him. It was still dark, but not pitch-black. _Hmm. Maybe his subconscious is out too. No, it can't be. Then that means…that…he's dead._


	11. Chapter 11

Larry tried to recover from the shock that just hit him. His best friend Spiny was dying. "Spiny…" he said in a loud voice. He still couldn't believe he was actually standing inside his subconscious mind. "I…I've got a few things to say. I know…I know I've been mean to you a lot of times before. And…you know that's how I am. Always the big joker, ha. But…none of that matters now….you know. I don't even know if you can hear me, or if you're dead already but I'm going to say it anyway.

"Spiny…you…you know I've always said you're my best friend…but I'm really telling you…from the deepest part of my heart…you…are…my…best…friend. And…I don't want to lose you. I don't have a family…but you and Kathy, Patty, Robert, Greeny, Lilia, Rudy, Dimetroodon, Darla and Roger…you're all family. But you are the one who brought us all together like a real family. You're the one who keeps us together. And you're the one who rides us out through the hard times.

"But, well, now you're the one going through the hardest one of all. We…" Larry gulped and tried not to break down. "We all love you. Myself included. You've been my brother…you took me into your home, no questions asked…and you made me one of your own. And…ha…I would've done the same thing if we switched places. Also, um, I now you're not used to hearing me….this way…on the verge of crying…I know I'm pretty tough and nothing can move me…." Larry sniffled. "Matter of fact, Spiny…this is only the second time in my life that I've cried. First time was when I hatched and found that I was alone…without parents or siblings…

"But Spiny, you…you can't leave us like this. You have hundreds of thousands of years, maybe millions of years of life ahead of you. Your life hasn't even begun to be good. You have a lot of loved ones. Lilia…the guys….kids at school…..your people….me…..the whole world. We all need you Spiny. You're one of those super-extra-ultra-mega special people that only come around once in the history in the world. I think….personally…that the only person who's ever lived on this planet who's done greater good than you has been Jesus. But after that…you're number one." Larry dropped to his knees and started to sob.

Then a voice said, "You going to stop there and or you going to keep on saying all that stuff?"

Larry looked around. "Huh? Spiny?"

"Who else?"

"Why you little…I thought you were dead!"

"Nah, I just wanted to see what you would say. I had a feeling you were going to speak your mind."

"Well…..I take it all back."

"Oh, come on. Keep saying it. All that stuff about you needing me, all that I've done for you, me being number one…"

"Akanthodis Spiny Kyverná, if you ever tell anyone what I've just said, you are going to be SOOOOO sorry, that you'll wish you were never born!"

Spiny's voice laughed. "Ok, ok, Mr. Sourpuss. I won't tell what a softie you really are. Man, get a girlfriend already."

"That's not my area."

"Larry, you're only area is making a fool out of yourself."

Larry sighed. "All right, all right. Well, the doctor said you were in a severe coma."

"Hmm. That figures. Did he say how long it could last?"

"Anywhere from a few weeks to a few years."

"A few years?!"

"Well…don't worry about, man. I'm going to try to see if I can reactivate the neurons in your brain or activate your conscious mind so that you'll wake up. Good thing is that we've captured most of the gang and their leader and several others were killed in the collapse."

"Did you give the tape to the media?"

"Yes and people are now asking for you to forgive them. They said they're really sorry."

"I should hope so. How about Robert? How is he?"

"Ah…pretty nervous, in fact. I sent him to sleep early. He's going into the office tomorrow early. I've already talked to his teachers about it."

"Good. I'm sure he'll do a good job while I…or we try to get me out of this mess."

"Yeah, don't your worry, Spiny. It doesn't matter that he's an uptight, sarcastic jerk. He'll do a great job."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Don't say insulting things about my family, even if it's true. Only I can do that."

Larry rolled his eyes. "All right. I take it back. But my point is that everything will eventually get better. Nothing can stand in our way to recovery."

(THREE MILLION MILES AWAY FROM EARTH. RED EYE BASE STATION.)

Red Eye Military Board Meeting.

"Gentlemen, as we all have just found out, King Spiny has suffered a most unfortunate accident. He is incapacitated and now his brother, Robert Kyverná has taken over the throne. In other words, we've got a newbie on our hands."

One of the members raised his hand. "With all due respect sir, what is that to us? Do we or should we care?"

"What's it to us? Are you asking what's it to us, lad? I'll tell you what it's to us. Exactly what's it to us. It means…opportunity. This new King is naïve, relatively dumb, and not aware of the tremendous pressures of being King."

The general sitting next to him stood up. "In other words, we have never had a better opportunity to strike those retched enemies of ours. They are now so focused on those problems that they are not prepared for an attack."

"Whoa, hold it!" said the director of the meeting. "I never said anything about an attack."

"But you just said we had an opportunity to strike. Obviously, we must be talking about the elimination of Amarkia and everything in it."

"In normal circumstances yes, but these are special circumstances. Robert knows very little about us. He knows very little of our way of life, our military strategies, and how we attack. No, an attack, a direct attack, though effective and very fun, is not the best way to go for now."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"We have to be subtle. Unnoticeable. Be right under their very noses and not be noticed." He started pacing back and forth. "We have to infiltrate the government itself and find a way to…help…Robert run things around, if you all know what I mean. We have to slowly, but steadily disintegrate the government from the inside out."

Another member of the board meeting laughed. "Oh, sir. That is a great idea, like all of your ideas. I guess it is time we had a little bit of fun with them."

"But, what if King Spiny were to recover earlier than anticipated?" the general asked.

"He won't. It's impossible. He'll be in coma at least for several weeks. And even if he did recover…..we'll make sure he won't. And if that doesn't work, then…" he ran his finger across his neck, making a wicked sound.

Everyone applauded to that idea.

"Now, remember, we only do that as an absolute last resort and we have absolutely no other option, choice, or alternative." The director turned to the men. "I guess that's all we have to talk about. You're all dismissed."

Each of the men stood up and left to their posts. The general stayed behind. "Well?"

The director turned toward a photo of Spiny on the wall. It had darts all over it. He walked over and cleared the photo of them. Then he stepped back and shot at the photo with his best gun.

The general laughed. "Just what I was thinking. Only now, um…" he placed a picture of Robert on the wall. He took his own firearm and shot at it also.

"You read my mind, general."

"You do have the creative mindset of a genius villain. Now, where are those drinks we ordered?"

"Should be here any…" Someone knocked on the door to the room. "…right here." The lunch boy entered, his dark black and red uniform encasing him in a layers of death and evil. "Ahh, here we are. Are they as we ordered?"

"Yes, sir," said the lunch boy. "Digestive juices with 40% more blood and the raw eyeballs to supplement them." He handed them two tall glasses of red liquid. "Ah, this is good. Have some!"

The lunch boy's eyes got huge and he gulped. "You know, I had an enormous lunch before coming to work."

"Drink! It's good for you!"

"Uh…how exactly is it good for me?"

"All that blood helps your iron. More iron, more blood, more everything. Plus, it helps your eyesight."

The lunch boy laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's what the eyeballs are for, right?"

The general and the director narrowed their eyes at the boy and pointed at the glass. "DRINK!"

He gulped and looked down at the red sloshy liquid, the single eyeball plopping up to face him. His stomach turned upside-down and inside-out. He gulped and took a sip. His throat felt like it was swallowing sewer water and mud with worms all wiggling in it.

He suddenly felt green. He forced a smile. Trying to keep his mouth shut, he said, "It really is good!" He handed to glass back to the general. "Now, if you both will excuse me, I have other work to do. Have a good day!" He turned around and as soon as he left the room, ran to the nearest bathroom and…well, the drink came back up from where it had come in.

He gasped for breath as he grabbed the door to stand up. He went to the sink and washed his hands and his face, until all of the red had been removed. _Phew_! he said to himself. _This is the worst part of being an Amarkian spy and infiltrating on Red Eye civilization. The horrible food. The guy who smuggles food from Amarkia hasn't come. But it was a good thing I had those microphones installed in the room. I have to warn Amarkia of what's coming to them._


	12. Chapter 12

(BACK IN AMARKIA)

Larry had never run so quickly since back in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks had happened and he was running to Spiny to inform him, to suggest locking down the entire nation. Now things were a lot worse.

He ran over five doctors and bumped into eight nurses. He crashed into Spiny's room. "Spiny! Spiny!" Oh, right. I forgot. I have to use Mind Com. He traveled into Spiny's subconscious. It was a lot lighter this time.

"Spiny!"

"What?"

"Spiny!"

"What?!"

"SPINY!"

"WHAT IS IT, YOU DOPE?"

"Oh, right. Um…I've got some news."

"Good or bad?"

"Bad."

"Just what I needed. What is it?"

"It's horrible, terrible, awful, horrendous, dreadful, shocking, unpleasant, appalling, shocking…"

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON ALREADY, PLEASE?!"

"Do you want me be quiet or to talk? You can't have both, you know."

"I know, I know…never mind. Let's start from the beginning. You say you have bad news. What exactly is happening?"

"Oh, yeah. What was it?"

"Larry, are saying you forgot what you were going to say?"

"Afraid so…no, wait! I just remembered. Here it goes: RD's."

"Say what?"

"RD's. Red Eyes."

"Re…oh, no!"

"Oh, yes!"

"Now what are the bastards planning?"

"I don't know details, but from what our agent up in their space base could gather, they're well informed of all the incidents that have happened here. But, mostly they're interested in you being incapacitated and Robert taking the lead."

"Okay, I have two questions. First, how do they know what's been happening. And two, what do they care if Robert is the King now?"

"Who knows how they found out, and they care very much. Mostly because Robert is the newbie."

"And what does that mean?"

"Oh. A newbie is an informal noun of the English language that has only been recently been widely used. It alludes to an inexperienced newcomer to a new activity. The plural form can be made simply by adding an s to the word."

Spiny exhaled deeply. "I know what the word newbie means, you smart-aleck!"

"Well, then why are you asking?"

"I'm not asking for the meaning of the word! I'm asking how Robert being in power could bring us trouble from the Red Eyes."

"Oh, okay. Well why didn't you just say so? Where'd you learn to speak English anyway?"

"Larry, we'll settle that later. Now answer my question."

"Oh, ok. Well you see, since Robert is…well, inexperienced, naïve, and is not really good at making good decisions under pressures, and of course, we all know that responsibility is not exactly one of his main virtues."

"Of course."

"Obviously a family trait that all his siblings share."

"Larry!"

"Kidding! Anyways, the Red Eyes could take advantage of those weaknesses and possibly take the opportunity."

"Should we be expecting an attack from them soon?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure. The Red Eyes are known for their fast, brutal, and overwhelming military attacks and terrorism acts. But in a situation like this, they may resort to subtleness and lying low."

"But you're not sure what exactly they'll do?"

"No, not really."

"Well…you'll keep me informed, right?"

"Sure, plus when super-important things are happening, you'll be able to see and hear everything that I can."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh, cool. Just don't forget it to deactivate it when you use the bathroom or take a shower."

"Don't worry. When I use the bathroom, I'll wear a blindfold. And as for showers, well, I don't have to take one until next month."

"Eww! Larry!"

"Never mind that now! That's not important. Important thing is that you rest and leave everything to me. I'll see how I can help Robert steer the ship while you're still in the medical cabin."

(NEXT MORNING. SPINY'S OFFICE)

Robert felt like he was carrying a dozen anvils on both shoulders and an elephant on his back. He'd overslept—that was no surprise—and had only gotten a cup of milk for breakfast. As soon as he'd arrived, he took off his coat and his necktie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt.

If there was one thing he hated, it was having to dress up neat.

Only last week, he'd gotten a C- on his math test. Now he wished he'd taken more time to study arithmetic. Every two minutes he found himself in the need of making a complicated equation.

He grabbed the phone. "Hello. I need help. Who can I ask about calculations? The Scientific Governmental Committee? Well, then get them on! Yes, hello. This is Robert. What do you mean what I want?! Get me a calculator! I don't know, any kind! And start working on a calculator that does everything! These calculations are killing me!"

Robert laid back in the black leather swiveling chair. A man who seemed to be in his 40s stepped in and served him his lunch. This is the only thing about being a King that's not stressful. Eating. I promise, Spiny, that when this is all over, I'll remember to stop and thank you for all you do for us. But for now, I have to find a way to look over the taxes and budgets.

(RED EYE SPACE STATION)

"He's having quite a lot of difficulties being King, even without our help," said the Commander to the General.

"Already? Anything in particular?"

"Well, let's just say that he's so desperate to be good in math, that he's willing to give up being a kid to do the taxes and budgets."

"Hmm. This is our chance." He looked at the screen. "He wants someone to help him with math? Then he'll get one!"

(BACK IN AMARKIA)

Robert was on the verge of insanity. It was still only day one and he felt like screaming at the entire world. He sat on the desk and let his head fall on the desk, whimpering and whining to himself.

The door opened and a young man in uniform said, "Sir, I hear you need some help with some Royal duties?"

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm the Head of the Math Personnel."

"I didn't even know Spiny had that."

"Well, he does, but since he's a whiz at math, he doesn't use us very often. Now, how can I be of service to you, sir?"

Robert pointed to the stack of papers on the desk. "I need, like, really urgent help on taxes and national budgeting."

The young man smiled. "Well, sir, that can be easily taken care of. You just rest easy and leave it all to me, sir."

Robert sighed deeply. "Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver. You don't know how hard math is."

"I understand, sir." He grabbed the stack of papers on the desk. "I'll help you clear this up, hear? Don't you worry about anything." He left the office. He made sure no one was looking. Then he sprinted to his "official office." He set the stack of papers and started paging through.

"Hmm. Taxes are quite low. Spending is…just a wee bit high." He quietly laughed evilly to himself. "Well, we can't have that imbalance now, can we? We have to fix this now. Let's see what happens if I…"


	13. Chapter 13

Three days later

July 24

Larry, as usual, burst into Spiny's room in the hospital, breaking it for the umpteenth time. He walked over to Spiny. "Spiny! Spiny! Oh, right. Subconscious, here I go!" After traveling into his mind, Larry said, "Spiny! Spiny! Spiny!"

"What? What? What?"

"We have a, uh, slight disturbance."

"That means it's a huge problem, right?"

"Yes. If you consider that Robert has raised taxes 40% being a slight disturbance."

"WHAT?! He raised taxes forty percent?!"

"Not only that, but the prices of goods have gone up tenfold and we are official now importing wood."

"Importing?! What's what going on around here?"

"I have no idea what Robert is doing. But I was on the way to the Palace when I heard it on the radio. I'll try to clear up this situation before it leads to an economic panic. The last thing we need is an economic recession."

"Please hurry!"

Larry ran out of the hospital, knocking over the same doctors and nurses. He raced back to the Palace and kicked the front doors open. "RRRROOOOOBBBBEERRRTTT!" The entire Palace shook and vibrated from the force of the yell.

Larry raced up to Robert's room. He wasn't there. "Robert?! Where are you?"

"In the bathroom," Robert's voice answered.

"What are you doing in there?!"

"I…what do you think I'm doing you idiot?"

"Never mind. Hurry up and get out here. I need to speak with you!"

"Just a minute. I'll be there." Larry heard the sound of the toilet flushing and the sink turning on. Larry paced back and forth for a full two minutes.

"How long do you take to wash your hands?"

"One minute."

"Do you always take that long?"

"Yes."

"What about when you're in trouble? How long do you take?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because since you turned on the sink, it has been 85 seconds. And the last time I checked, that, my friend, is more than a minute."

Finally, the sound of the sink turned down and the door opened. "Now what did I do?" said Robert.

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Larry yelled frantically.

"What are you talking about? Just because I'm making red leather jackets a requirement for all kids, it's not something to get excited about."

"It's not about….wait, you did what?! Never mind, we've more important things to discuss, Mr. Fonzarelli! Don't you any idea of how to handle a budget?"

"Of course I do!"

Larry stuck a newspaper in his face. "Then will you explain to me why you've raised taxes 40%?!"

Robert grabbed the paper and started looking it over. Then he looked up at Larry. "This is for real, right?"

"It's no practical joke, unfortunately. The people have just stopped protesting against Spiny. Do you want them start acting up again?! Do you want to be responsible for a civil war?! Well, do you?! Do you realize the damage this will cause to the entire Amarkian infrastructure?!"

Robert stammered. "It wasn't me. I don't know if my Math Personnel…"

"Hold it! Math Personnel? What Math Personnel?"

"The…guy who helped me with the, uh…"

Larry slapped his against the face. "Ay yay yay! Listen…just….go to bed. Forget about everything. I have to take care of this first mess you've done as King."

"But I didn't know…"

"Go to bed!"

Robert dried his hair and went under the covers. Larry stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. If this is how it's supposed to be, I'm never going to help Spiny's kids when they start to learn about ruling the country.

(NEXT MORNING.)

"So, you think you can fix the problem?" said Spiny to Larry in the mind.

"Well, first things first. I'll see what I can do to calm the public down before panic sets in. I estimate that the tax problem will be resolved in two days at the most."

"Hmm. And how long do you estimate that I'll be in a coma?"

"Ehh…based on your current healthy status, and the way your neurons are…maybe a month."

"A month?! Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well, why don't you wake me up already?"

"Uh, I'm trying, I'm trying. Unscrambling neurons and reactivating the brain is not as simple as making super powers, you know?"

"Well, please hurry, before something else happens."

"Well, look. I'm on my way to the office. I'll see that Robert doesn't do any more stupidities. We also have to stand guard so that no more Red Eyes have infiltrated the system."

"Did you get that Red Eye who caused the whole mess?"

"Nope. As soon as it happened, he resigned and we can't find him. His job records disappeared, and so has he. I suppose he's returned to the Red Eye Base. But now we have other worries."

"Yes, of course. Keep me informed."

"Of course, of course."

A few minutes later, Larry arrived at the governmental offices and went down the elevator of the lobby. He walked down the same hallway he'd been going down since 70 CE. It had become a way of life, something routine, an almost mechanical action. But although it was the same office, it was a very different person who was holding the office.

He opened the doors and saw Robert at the desk. "Robert?"

He looked up at Larry. "Yeah, what is it?"

Larry closed the door and locked it. "It's time we had a serious talk."

"Serious talk, eh?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't need to. I already how babies are made and all that. Plus, I just ate lunch so please don't remind me how the process goes."

"Oh, not that, you jerk! I'm talking about other important stuff."

"Oh. Go ahead then."

"Have you ever heard of the word 'nuclear'?"

"Um…..yes. Why?"

"Well, as King it's time you learned a few secrets of our nuclear weapons arsenal. If you're going to help keep the country and the people together and know how to fend of enemies and provocative acts, you need to know a few things."


	14. Chapter 14

"So, Spiny?"

"Yeah? Are you going to wake me up yet?"

"I'm still working on that. Just hold your horses. Now, I've got something to tell you. I've taught Robert the tricks of the trade."

"I'm afraid to ask this, but I'm going to anyway. What tricks did you teach him?"

"About nuclear weapons."

At first there was silence, but then Larry was electrocuted by every single neuron that surrounded him. He collapsed and shook. He looked up. "W-w-what w-was t-that for?"

"What are you crazy or something?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why on Earth did you tell Robert about nuclear weapons?"

"Well, I had to! I didn't do anything wrong. I just did my duty and told him what he needed to know about nuclear fusion, how to launch missiles, how to intercept attacks, and all our codes and keys."

"You will be responsible for anything that happens. Robert is at an age when he acts on pure emotion and impulse. He is at a very impulsive age. He is 12 years old! And when guys are at that age, immaturity is our middle name!"

"That's funny, I thought his middle name was Aaron."

"Grr! You know what I mean! Look, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, like firing a missile at the UN headquarters in New York."

"That's not stupid. That's something I really am considering doing."

"Now, Spiny…"

"Never mind. Just go do what you need to do."

"All right. I'll see you later. Or…talk to you later, that is."

(AT THE ROYAL OFFICE. TWO HOURS LATER)

Robert never realized that nuclear weapons were a whole ton of chemistry and physics and not much military science. Larry had used words so complicated and difficult that they weren't even in the Official Chemistry Dictionary for Super Nerds.

Sometimes Robert wondered how it was possible that Spiny could be as smart as a nerd but as popular as a "cutie-pie" as referred to by the girls. Well, he couldn't think of that.

A knock on the door woke him up from his deep thinking. A man who seemed to be in his late 30s stepped in the office. "Oh, excuse me sir. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Huh? Oh, no nothing. I mean, no you're not interrupting. What is it?"

"I see that Larry has taught you the basics of nuclear weaponry."

"Well, I don't know what he taught me. All I know is he said something about codes, some complicated molecule, and who knows what else."

"I see, I see. Very important stuff to know."

"And the worst part is that I've got this stack of papers about two feet high that I have to file before the day is out. I don't know when I'm going to finish. Or if I even will."

The man extended his arms out. "Oh, let me file those for you, please."

Robert stared at him for a good long while. "Uh…..no."

"No?"

"No, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that…..it's not safe." He got up and went up to the door. "I'm going to leave so, um, I'm afraid you have to leave too. No one can be in here if I'm not. Or Larry."

"Yes, of course." They both left the room. The man went to the nearest restroom. After confirming that nobody was there, he said to into his phone, "He didn't fall for it. No, he said he was going to do it himself. Tell the boss. He says to launch a real attack? All right. I'll be up there in a second. No one makes fun of us Red Eyes."

(LATER THAT AFTERNOON)

Larry was spinning around in his chair, waiting for Robert to return from the board meeting. When he finally returned, he said, "So how'd it go?"

"Can you believe it?! I'll still have to do school while being King?"

"Is that a surprise? Spiny goes to school too. Or he did."

"Well, yeah, but we're under tough times and I just thought…never mind. I'm up to here already and it's barely my fourth day! How can Spiny have stood almost two thousand years of this?!"

"Well, it wasn't easy for him at first. But he got used to it. After about 75 years of doing it."

"Seventy-five years?!" Robert collapsed on his chair…or Spiny's chair while being in use. "I can't take seventy-five seconds of this. I won't last a week more! I should be playing soccer or playing some board game tournament at the arcade with the guys."

"Will you please shut that part out of your life and concentrate on what's more important?!" He grabbed a file report from his desk and handed it to Robert. "Oh, we have this incident report. About thirty people in Tentpole City area have gotten ill with a case of E. coli. They got eat it from Willy's Burgers."

Robert jumped from the desk so suddenly that Larry got scared. "What?! You mean to tell me that people got food poisoning?! Don't you remember that we have health laws in this country?! Don't they cook their meat properly?"

"Uh…..Robert….it's a franchise restaurant. No franchise restaurant cooks their own meat."

(A FEW MINUTES LATER AT THE HOSPITAL)

"Spiny…."

"What is it?"

"I've got news."

"Good or bad?"

"Well….you be the jug of, I mean the judge of that. You see we had a small case of food poisoning with Willy's Burger restaurant. Thirty people got sick."

"So what happened?"

"ROBERT IS DRIVING ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!"

"Whoa, calm down, Larry. Really, I've never seen, uh, I mean, heard you this angry before. What happened?"

"What happened?! I'll tell you what happened. When Robert heard that he went through the roof. And after getting a verbal hurricane from him saying how we have health laws and why don't they cook their own meat and etc., he wanted to arrest the cooks of the restaurant."

"He wanted to do what?!"

"I told him that's not the way we run things, but he said, 'We do know,' and he just left."

"You think he'll really have them arrested?"

"Nah, he's just sore from all the pressure. He won't do it. I know he won't."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because if he does, I'll kill him."

"Say what?"

"Forget it." Larry stood up. "I'm going to go home now. I'll be in first thing tomorrow. I suspect that Robert will be in a foul mood. I just hope he doesn't want chicken for dinner. Ha! Get it? Foul mood? Chicken?"

"Yes, Larry, I get it. You don't have to rub it in."

"Okay, I get the hint. I know when I'm not wanted. Goodbye."

(LATER AT THE OFFICE)

The Red Eye finished guising himself and entered the King's Office. This time, it had to work. If not…then they would have to directly eliminate Amarkia. "Excuse me, sir?" he said to Robert.

"Yeah? Say, as long as you're here, can you see if anyone can help me with this?"

"What is it?"

"I need help on the construction of the new residential 80-story residential building that's under construction in Sauropolis. I know about it from the news and all, but with all these things happening in the past few weeks, it hasn't been able to meet the deadline."

"Oh, yes. I do have some advice about that."

"What is it?"

"Well, with all the inflation problems the past few days, our regular method of construction might not be so efficient."

"Oh, really? Tell me more."


	15. Chapter 15

"What do you mean you're going to change the whole way of building in Amarkia?" Larry asked. Besides being completely astonished and dumbfounded, he was really starting to get angry with Robert's decisions.

"Well, we need to make our buildings cheap. It's costing too much to make that residential skyscraper."

Larry crossed his arms. "Robert, none of our buildings are cheap. The grand majority is quite expensive."

"Maybe it's time we started building them…cheapish."

Larry shook his head. "Don't do it. Just don't it."

Robert stared at him for a good long while. Then he got on the phone. "Yes, this is Prin…er, I mean, King Robert. Get me in touch with the Department of Infrastructure."

(ONE WEEK LATER)

July 21

"Spiny! Spiny! Spiny!"

"Now what happened?"

"How did you know I was coming with bad news?"

"I don't know. I just assumed. That's all you've been telling me every time you 'visit' me at the hospital. "

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's all the news that is happening. A building collapsed and 13 workers were killed and investigators are frenzying to find the cause."

"Wait, what? A collapse? How did that happen?"

"Lack of good construction."

"What are you talking about?"

"Robert decided to not use the same materials we use and switched to cheaper materials like wood and soft metals."

"He did WHAT?!"

"Some idiot military advisor gave him the idea to switch to cheaper materials because of the tax issue last week. And he's disappeared also."

"You mean…another one?"

"Yep. Looks like it. And how knows if more Red Eyes are infiltrating the government. So far, only those two. But I've started a secret investigation to find more."

"Oh, great! All this happening and me in a stupid coma! I still have to wait four weeks! Larry you've got to wake me up now!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Spiny, but I have to go!"

"No, no, no, wait…"

"See ya!"

(LATER AT THE PALACE THAT EVENING)

Robert finally opened the doors with shivering hands. His felt felt like it was going to explode at any minute and his stomach was inside out.

"Hey, Robert," said Kathy, coming in her wheelchair. "How did it go?"

"Terrible, that's what!" said Robert in a furious voice.

"What happened?"

"Thanks to me and my stupid decisions, thirteen workers died!"

"Oh, come on, Robert. Spiny has his bad days too, remember? And all Kings, even the best ones have made some bad decisions. It's just being human."

Robert collapsed on the sofa in front of the TV. "I can't take this anymore. I can't stand it!"

"Well…dinner will be ready any minute now."

"I'm going to pass on that."

"But we made your favorite: French food!"

Robert shook his head. "No, thanks. I've got a headache." He closed his eyes and laid his head back.

"Well, all right." She went to the hallway. "Larry! Dinner's ready!" He appeared at the base of the stairs in less than two seconds. "Coming!" he walked past Robert. "What's the matter with you? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Nothing's the matter with me and I'm not hungry. You have a problem with that?"

Larry held his hands up. "Dude! Chill, will you? Eesh!" He went past into the Family Dining Room. He sat at his place near the head of the table. Where Spiny usually sits. He stared at the seat.

"Staring at Spiny's seat won't get him back," said Kathy.

"I know, I'm just…thinking."

Patty sat down and started eating. "Well, he'll be back soon enough and things will get better. Greeny, stop playing with your food."

"Aw, but I'm so bored. There's nothing to do without Spiny!"

"Why don't you go play your friends?" said Kathy.

"But I want Spiny to be here," he complained.

"Don't worry, pal. He'll be back soon. You'll see."

(RED EYE BASE)

"Well, that didn't work," said the General.

"Don't worry, sir," said the Army Captain. "Now we go to the next phase."

"And what would that be?"

"Operation Paper. This never fails with newbies on other planets. It's guaranteed to work."

(NEXT DAY. AMARKIAN ROYAL ARMED FORCES OFFICIAL DEFENSE STATION)

Robert came running in. "What is it? What's wrong? I got a phone call there was an emergency."

One of the military commanders said to him, "Yes, sir, we have a situation going on."

"What is it?"

He pointed to the screen of the radar. Several red dots were coming towards the radar from the northeast. "Several rockets have been fired at us."

Robert started panicking. "Um…um….um…fire nukes."

"Sir?"

"You heard me! Fire fifteen nukes at Cairo!"

"What are you crazy, or something?!" Larry's voice yelled behind him. Robert jumped and landed in the commander's arms. "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to prevent you from doing another stupidity! That's what I'm doing! Have you gone insane, sending fifteen nuclear weapons at Cairo?!"

"I have to!"

"Haven't you heard of something called nuclear fallout? How about radiation sickness and radiation poisoning? How about cancer?! Have you heard of that, you brickhead?"

"I'm going to do it, regardless of what you say!" Robert turned to the Commander. "Where is the launch room?"

"Follow me, sir." He walked into a hallway in the walls into a small room with slated windows on the top and green walls. He pointed at the launching commands in front. "Here they are." He went to a secret compartment on the wall and took out a large, heavy, metal red box and unlocked it. He took out a file folder and started typing on the keypad. "These are the approval codes."

When he finished, he opened another locked box and handed Robert a medium-sized, weird-shaped key. "Here is the key to launch."

Before Robert could grab it, Larry snatched it. "Oh, no you don't, mister!"

"Hey, give that back!" He backed his arms to get it, elbowing the Commander in the face and knocking him out. He grabbed the front end of the key.

"No, you give it!" said Larry, pulling on the other end of the key. He wrapped his tail against the doorknob and started pulling himself back. Robert curled his leg around the metal leg of the computer and started pulling himself.

"Give it!" said Larry.

"No, you give it! I'm the King, not you!"

"All the more reason!" They both let go and the key went into the air. They both lunged at it, but were knocked out of the way when one of the Royal Guards opened the door and the key landed on his helmet.

He felt it and grabbed it.

Larry got up and dusted himself off. "Give me that, key. That's an order."

"No! Give it to me," said Robert. "If you don't give it to me, you'll be sorry!"

"Give it to me!"

"No, give it to me!"

"No, give it to me!"

The guard stood motionless, staring at both. He had been taught to be neutral but was never told what to do in a situation like this. He'd never trained for a power struggle. He just held the key securely in his hands.

Then, Robert and Larry both lunged at him. The air was filled with dust and the sounds of punching, kicking, and beating up. Larry finally stood up and said, "Ha! I got it!"

Robert ran towards the key, but Larry stuck out his hand against Robert's head, preventing him from advancing. "You know, we do have rocket interceptors."

"Huh? Rocket interceptors?"

"Yes, they are non-nuclear missile that destroy enemy rockets and or missiles that are headed towards us. There is a way to stop this without starting a world apocalypse, you know?"

"Oh, then why didn't you say so?"

"I was going to, but not with the key still in your hands. It's simple. Now let's go back to the Command Room."

A few minutes later, Larry had launched the Intercepting Process and the red dots disappeared from the radar. Robert crossed his arms and looked Larry. "Well, I do have to admit, Larry that was a great call by you."

Larry sighed. "Robert, I have something to confess."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Those rockets that appeared on radar?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well….they weren't real."


	16. Chapter 16

"What do you mean they weren't real?!"

"They were fake rockets! Don't you see? The Red Eyes tricked you into thinking it was real missiles. It's the oldest trick in the book. They wanted to trick you into war with Egypt."

Robert stood there, gaping. He blinked his eyes and sat down. "I think I need a little bit."

"A little bit? You could use twenty years. Do you realize what you almost did?"

"Well I didn't know!" Robert said.

"Okay, from now on, don't listen to anybody and don't follow anyone's advice; only mine." Larry turned to the screen. "I can't believe how close we came to nuclear war. But if there's one thing I know, it's that the Red Eyes won't give up that easy."

(RED EYE BASE)

"What do you mean he didn't fall for it?!" the Commander yelled angrily.

"He just didn't, sir. He was about to launch nuclear missiles and all, but he was stopped at the last minute by Spiny's assistant, Larry."

"Grr! That Larry. We hate him just as much as Spiny. Always getting in the way and ruining our plans."

"Well, we've tried to play nice. But they didn't want to. I guess you know what that means, sir."

The Commander laughed evilly. "Yes, yes I do. Advise the pilot. We're headed for Earth. Our target: The Palace."

(BACK IN AMARKIA)

"Sir, we have a Red Alert. Something else has appeared on the radar."

Larry and Robert ran back to the radar screen. A massive odd-shaped object was coming from the southwest at a very high speed. "What is that?!" said Robert.

"That's no fake." He looked at Robert. "That is a Red Eye plane." He stared at Robert. Robert stared back. "What do we do?" Larry turned to the Commander. "Send out the top units of the air forces and the ground troops. We'll have to intercept this thing."

"Yes, sir." He ran out of the room.

"Come on, Robert!" said Larry, heading for the door.

"You mean…this is for real?"

"It sure is. Come on. This is your chance to prove that you are a good ruler. Maybe this way you can earn back some trust from the people."

"I hope so!" He ran out of the room, following Larry. He stopped suddenly. "What's wrong?"

Larry shook his head. "Nothing. You keep going. I'll meet up with you later." Larry waited until Robert was gone. Then, in his mind he said, "Spiny! Spiny, wake up!"

"Huh? What? What is it? Who am I killing?"

"You're killing….nobody. We have a major emergency. The Red Eyes are launching an attack on us."

"What?!"

"Yes. One of their planes appeared on the radar and it's heading this way."

"Where exactly?"

"Well, I didn't tell Robert because I didn't want him to worry. So I didn't tell him."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"All right, but don't start acting up, because it could be bad for your neurons. The plane seems to be heading…for the Palace."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, they're targeting the Palace. Right now, they must be approaching the outskirts of Sauropolis. They'll probably reach the Palace in about fifteen minutes. We've deployed Army and Air Force units to try to intercept it before it gets there. I'll…I'll transmit everything that happens to your subconscious. You won't be able to see anything, but you'll be able to hear it. That's the best I can do now. I don't have time for anything else."

"Wait, wait!"

"Gotta go, Spiny. Bye!"

"Larry!"

Spiny heard nothing but footsteps and Larry's heavy breathing. Larry must've been using the Tele-Port power, because the next thing he heard was air raid sirens, screaming, and the thundering of military vehicles.

"Here they come!" he heard Larry's voice yell.

"They're coming in too fast sir!" he heard a soldier's voice say.

"We're not going to make it!"

Then, Spiny heard an enormous explosion. BOOMMM! His subconscious was starting to make his heart palpitate and the nerves in his conscious started to fire up slowly. Oh, no! he thought. The Palace! It's been hit!

Finally, he heard a horrendous sound: his brother Robert screaming.

Without warning, Spiny's eyes opened and the blinding white light reflecting off the white walls burned his eyes. He closed his eyes again, trying to shade himself. He felt himself get up, yet he didn't feel like it was voluntary.

He felt very strange, as if in a dream. He looked around. I'm in a hospital? What's going on? What happened? Why am I here? How long have I been here? Wait….I was framed….then….we spied in on the criminals….the building fell on us…that's it. He looked at the calendar. Holy smokes, I've been out of it for two more than a week! Why are the air raid sirens sounding? What's going on? Wait! I just remembered! We're being attacked by the Red Eyes! And the Palace has been hit! I have to get out of here to see if my family is all right!

Spiny got up and…Crash!...tripped and fell on the floor. He ran to the bathroom and changed into his normal clothes. He came out jumping on one foot, tying his shoelaces. Then he kicked the door open.

He whizzed by a nurse, nearly running into her. "Excuse me!" Spiny yelled as he zoomed by.

"Go ahead….wait! That's him! Somebody grab him!" she yelled frantically.

Spiny ignored the yelling behind him and jumped into the elevator just as it was closing. When he reached the ground floor, he raced out of the building to the parking garage. He jumped into TIV and backed out of there at 50 miles per hour.

He spun in circles across the parking lot until he reached the highway and raced towards the Palace. People were panicking and running around him. In the distance, he could see the large, black, menacing-looking Red Eye aircraft.

The main ship was stationary in the air, while smaller planes came out of it, firing at civilians and buildings. When he got off on the exit and turned on the street, he was three times above the speed limit.

Visibility was very poor as huge amounts of dust were everywhere. He stopped when he saw a ton of fallen bricks and reinforced steel rebar sticking out on the road. He jumped out and ran forward. He saw Robert yelling at a soldier. He had too, because the aerial assault was deafening.

Spiny tapped Robert's shoulder. He turned around. "Now now, Spiny, I'm busy!" he turned back to the soldier. "I'm telling you to do it!"

"But, sir, it's a very risky move. And it could cause more harm than good!"

Spiny tapped Robert's shoulder again. "I told you to wait, Spiny!" He said to the soldier, "I'm in charge now, and if I saw we fire all of our nukes, you do it!"

Spiny punched Robert's shoulder. "Ow! What do you think you're doing?!" He turned back to the soldier. "I'll blow up the whole world if I have to! And if you don't…." he stopped and turned back to Spiny. "Spiny! You're alive!"

"Of course, I'm alive! And I will be for a VERY long time!"

"Well, I, uh, I was just, uh…"

Larry appeared out of nowhere. "Spiny. You came out of the coma!"

"I guess all the action woke me up. Has the Palace been hit?"

"Some windows and considerable roof damage."

Spiny ran back to TIV and a large missile appeared on top of it. He honked the horn. "Everyone get out of the way!" All the troops and Larry and Robert ran to the sides of the road and took cover.

Spiny aimed the rocket towards the main ship and fired at it. Three seconds later, the ship exploded into a ball of fire, disintegrated metal, and burnt cinder. The noise finally faded and the dust began to clear.

Spiny stepped out and took a deep breath. "I think you can stand up now," he shouted. All the troops got up and looked around. Behind them, a crowd of onlookers had come out of shadows and stared applauding and cheering.

A group of reporters came forward and started flashing their cameras. Here we go again, Spiny thought. Well, this time it's for a good reason. Spiny waved and smiled at them. The family came out of the Palace and raced towards him. They embraced him on the beleaguered road. Dimetroodon, Rudy, Roger, came out and also hugged him.

Darla appeared and gave him a high-five. Then, Lilia stepped out her house. She saw him and ran towards him. He saw her and ran towards her. They meet halfway and he took her in his arms and swung her around several times.

"You're back!" said Lilia.

"Of course I am."

"I thought we'd lose you!"

"Nah, I know you wouldn't let me. You'd kill me if I died."

She laughed and said, "I love you!"

"So do I." He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back passionately and put her hands around his back. The group of reporters quickly started taking pictures, while Larry stood in the way to prevent it.

(LATER THAT EVENING)

"Well, this has been a hectic past month," said Kathy.

I nodded. "You've said it. I've seen more action in these past few weeks than in the nearly two thousand years I've been as King."

"Oh, and speaking of which," said Robert. He handed me the Royal Ring. "Here you go. I don't need this anymore."

I took the ring in my hand and held it for a while. Then I hugged my little brother. "Proud of you, bro. You did a great job."

He shrugged. "I did a lot of stupid things."

I laughed at that. "So? We all do stupid things. We do them every day. They're called mistakes and errors. But we learn from them. Thanks for being a good friend in time of need."

"But…I was on the verge on insanity. You've been King a long time. How come you still do it? Why don't you just give up?"

I was about to answer when Greeny, with the bandage still around his head, came up to me. "Spiny, did you bring me anything?"

"Greeny!" Patty shouted.

"No, it's okay," I said. I reached into my pockets. "Let me see…yes, I brought you a…paperclip!" I held it in his face.

He smiled. "Yay! Now I can finish my chain!" He ran out of the living room up to his room. I turned everyone who was there. My dear family. My beloved friends. The greatest friend in the world and the most wonderful girl I'd ever meet in my arms. "Do I need to answer that question now?"

That's right. This is a dangerous, demanding job that is definitely not fir for a fourteen-year-old boy. But why did I take on this responsibility since I was 11 and a half? Because of one simple reason: the love I feel for my family, my friends, and my people. And I'll do anything, even go to the ends of the earth and give my life up for them.

That's pretty good in the end for everyone, don't you think?


End file.
